Batman Beyond Revisited
by TallMist
Summary: Jake Vance, after the death of his father, was abused by his mother for years until he finally ran away. Years later, he takes on the role of a new Batman. A Batman Beyond. Rated M for disturbing details, occasional swearing, violence, blood, etc. This is a retelling of the sci-fi superhero show, with new characters/personalities. #BatmanBeyondRevisited on Twitter for updates
1. Bat's Last Laugh

Joker...

A monster...

Bruce always saved him...

Refused to kill him...

As a result?

Thousands crippled

Millions killed

Countless lives ruined

Well, one night, Bruce snapped.

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE**

 **THE BAT'S LAST LAUGH**

It was at Ace Chemicals.

Of course it would end there.

It is where it began, after all.

They were fighting on top of the walkway.

The one above the very same vat of acid that created Joker.

Bruce was throwing punches.

But Joker ducked and dodged each one.

"Get rather slow, Batsy." The Joker taunted.

Joker continued to laugh as Bruce tried to punch at him.

"So weak. I guess that's what happens after years of crime fighting."

Joker wasn't wrong.

Bruce is in his early eighties.

His bones have weakened despite his immense training.

His speed is slower and his strength is diminishing.

Bruce was breathing tiredly.

Not a single punch even touched the clown.

His haunting laugh filled the abandoned factory.

The clown punched back at Batman and he fell to the ground.

Holding onto the metal guard rail, Bruce began to cough.

Blood came out of his mouth.

Joker pulled out a gun, holding it to his head.

"It has been a fun six decades, Bats, but...

... as we all know...

All good things must come to an end."

Joker put his finger on the trigger.

And fired the gun.

The bullet missed.

Joker was pulled over the edge.

Bruce was holding onto the ledge.

Joker was below him, holding onto Batman's other wrist.

He laughed.

"Go ahead, ol' pal of mine.

Drop me.

You can't, can you?

You wouldn't.

You're too goody-goody.

And you wouldn't let an old friend die."

Batman shook his head and let go of Joker.

But The Joker held on.

"Now, now, Bats. Let's not get crazy."

"Every time I let you live...

Every time I spared your life...

A massacre would take place...

You killed countless people...

If I died knowing I let you harm more people...

My soul would be torn apart more than it would be if I killed you..."

Batman started to laugh when he finished talking.

"What's so funny?" The Joker asked with an anger in his voice.

"I always believed killing you meant losing." Batman shifted his fingers on the bar.  
"Not if we both die."

Batman let go of the rail.

They both fell.

Their bodies dissolved in the acid.

All that's left before they vanished completely?

The ear of Batman's cowl...

...And a Joker playing card.

So, that's how Bruce's Batman died...

... And mine...

Was born


	2. Ten Years Later

Ever since he died

Crime has risen

The death tolls have dramatically increased

Not anymore

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE**

 **TEN YEARS LATER**

Rain.

I always hated rain.

Reminds me of the day my father died.

Ten years have already passed.

Unbelievable how time flies, isn't it?

I can't remember much of it.

After all, I was eight at the time.

But what I will always remember?

The sound of that psychopath's laugh.

The laugh he made when he stabbed him in the heart.

My mom wouldn't tell me who he was.

But, of course, she couldn't keep me in the dark about someone so notorious for long. But we'll get back to him later.

After dad died, mom became abusive.

She'd throw bottles of alcohol at me.

Yell at me all the time.

She'd say how it's my fault.

That if I hadn't opened the door, he'd be alive.

I thought it was one of his coworkers.

He was wearing a suit and a fedora blocked his face.

Why he spared Mom and I, I still don't know.

After a year of mental and physical abuse, I ran away.

I saw a mansion up near a cliff, close by our house.

I knew it was Wayne Manor.

So what better place to run to?

Who would expect a kid to sneak past Wayne security?

I knew how to be quiet on my feet, though.

I know how to keep my guard up.

I know how to mind my surroundings.

I needed to so I could avoid my mother.

I got to the mansion without issue.

And when I got inside...

Empty.

I explored all over the mansion, but saw no one.

I wasn't too surprised.

It was all over the news Bruce Wayne went missing.

He was presumed to have been killed by the man who killed Batman and my dad.

But did he leave the manor to no one?

No, certainly he didn't. He had to leave it to someone.

It was on the news that he left it to his adopted son, Dick Grayson.

So why couldn't I find anyone?

Something was up.

I had to be careful.

So for the next nine years, I kept my head down in the house.

I heard the occasional footstep.

But I never saw anyone.

Until today.

"Hey!"

I jumped up off the couch.

"What are you doing still laying about?"

I looked to where the voice was coming from.

It was Grayson.

I got up and tried to run, but he intercepted me. "Usually you're sneaking around by now."

"You knew I was here?"

"I'm old, not stupid."

I gulped.

"Relax, he won't hurt you."

I turned around and saw an old woman in a wheelchair.

"Barbara Gordon." I guessed.

She nodded.

"He seems mad, but he won't harm you, I promise. If he wanted to, he would have on the day you arrived."

I looked between the two, afraid they'd call the cops.

But then I heard Dick chuckle.

"Relax, kid."

I looked at him, confused.

"I just have something I want to talk to you about."

And that was the day my life truly changed forever.


	3. A New Batman

Harm will never come to an innocent again.

I will protect this city.

This city needs a new hero, after all.

It needs a new Batman.

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED  
**  
 **EPISODE:**

 **THE NEW BATMAN**

"Batman?" I asked, completely stunned.

Dick Grayson nodded.

"Bruce Wayne? Billionaire playboy? Cheater? Drunk? Total a-hole to everyone he surrounds himself with?"

Dick was about to get up and knock me out to next year until Barbara put her hand on his chest.

"Don't you ever talk like that about Bruce." He said with a not-so-subtle anger in his voice.

I flinched, but I kept looking him in the eyes.

"If Bruce is Batman, then I'm Nightwing."

"That would be me."

I stared at Grayson in shock.

"No way." I said, refusing to believe circus boy Grayson was Nightwing.

"He's telling the truth." Said Barbara.

"Prove it, then."

The two looked at each other and nodded.

"Follow us." Barbara asked of us.

So, I did. And they brought me to an old clock.

It must have been two... No, three hundred years old.

"So, you brought me to see a clock that doesn't work?"

"We haven't used this in so long."

"The cobwebs make that clear."

Dick glared at me before opening the glass on the clock face.

He pushed the numbers two, one, and then pushed ten twice.

The clock began to move.

The clock pushed itself to the side to reveal a staircase.

It was dimly lit, so we had to use flashlights to find our way down.

There was a lift, so Barbara didn't need the stairs.

When we got to the bottom, I couldn't see a thing, even with our flashlights.

All I could do was hear a dripping noise and an echo.

"Batcave." Dick yelled.

The lights turned on.

I could only stare in awe as I saw the room light up, bit by bit.

In the center of the cave was a giant computer system.

To my left was the Batmobile and to the back were the suits, with one suit obviously missing.

"So, you guys weren't lying."

"No." Barbara said. "Bruce is Batman. Dick is Nightwing. I'm Oracle, the first Batgirl."

"Well, I take back what I said, then..."

Then I noticed something.

"Why aren't you guys still out fighting crime?"

"We retired." Dick said as he walked over to the suits.

I followed him, as did Barbara

"Retired?"

"Retired. Done. Hung up the cape."

"Why?"

"I'm 75 years old now and Barbara is 70. We can't keep fighting forever."

"And why not?"

"I will not wind up like..."

He didn't finish, but he didn't need to.

I could see it in his eyes.

"Look, we can't fight anymore. We need someone to take up the mantle. We want him to be you."

I looked at Dick in shock.

"Me? Batman?"

"Yes." Barbara answered.

"I have no training."

"We'll train you. I can teach you how to fight and better your stealth. Barbara will teach you how to be a detective."

"I don't know."

Barbara put a hand on my shoulder.

"We need you, Jake Vance. The city needs you."

Dick looked me in the eyes.

"So... What do you say?"


	4. Inque

How do you stop a criminal?

One who fades into the shadows as easily as you?

One who can change her shape as if she's made of water?

Someone who wasn't born?

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **INQUE**

So, you're probably wondering what I meant when I said she wasn't born.

Well, she wasn't.

She was created.

Inque.

That's what the scientists called the project.

They were trying to cure cancer by creating a new type of cell.

A cell that would continuously renew itself.

It would leave a piece of itself in the bloodstream, a piece too small to be killed, but large enough to grow to a necessary size when needed and repeat the process.

That wasn't the result they achieved.

Instead, one night, when they went in to finish the project, they found something in the shape of a baby where they left their project.

Her body was black and purple all over, except for her head.

Where a face would be was a blank-paper white area.

For months they examined the new being, but got no closer to figuring out what happened.

They opted to exterminate her to avoid risking any possible outbreaks.

But Doctor Aaron Herbst would have none of it.

The past few months, he grew attached to the creation, like a father to a daughter.

As soon as he heard the word "kill", he went mad, killing the other scientists.

He took Inque home.

Inque.

That was a good name for her, he decided.

It was fitting.

He kept her a secret for the next several years.

She grew a lot during those years.

First, she grew face with black eyes, slanted lines above her eyes that looked like eyebrows and purple lips.

She learned how to use her goo-like form to change shape.

Her father watched her age, proud of what was accomplished.

What Aaron wasn't proud of was the secrets he kept.

He told Inque she was born with a molecular disease that made her body unstable.

A case no one has seen before.

He was right about no one seeing a case of it before then.

But only because no one knew about her and because no such disease existed.

He feared what would happen if she found out what she really was.

One day, of course, she did grow curious of about herself, like all teenagers.

She went into her dad's room while he was out.

Snuck into his old files.

That's when Inque discovered how she was created.

Aaron came home.

"When were you going to tell me?" she asked when he walked into his room. "When did you plan to tell me I'm a freak accident?"

Aaron stood there, stunned.

"ANSWER ME!" She yelled.

"Never. I never wanted you to know."

"You're telling me that you killed ten men and hid me from the world and you NEVER planned to tell me the truth?"

The former scientist gulped and nodded.

Inque screamed.

In a flash, her arms extended towards her false father and wrapped around his neck.

"Inque... please..." he begged as he began to run out of air. "I'm... your... father..."

Inque squeezed his neck harder, forcing him to stop talking.

"No! You were never my dad! I HAVE NO DAD!" She cried before Aaron's eyes closed and collapsed to her knees, crying.

She began wondering what she should do.

Then realized there was only one thing she could do.

"I'll get revenge...

I'll get revenge on Gotham...

On everyone in it...

By destroying its one hope...

I'll destroy its savior...

I'll kill Batman." 

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: There's an Easter Egg in this chapter referencing the original Batman Beyond cartoon. Can you guess what it is?**


	5. Batman Inque

Three weeks patrolling Gotham.

I already made a name for myself.

Thing is?

I'm not the only one.

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISTED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **BATMAN INQUE**

"Her name is Inque." said Dick's voice from the earpiece in my cowl. "She's a shapeshifter. Can take virtually any form."

"Not impressed." I spoke with a bored tone. "In the short time of her so called reign of terror against Gotham, all she did was steal a few dollars."

Dick sighed. "Why do you think someone with her powers would commit such a small crime? She wants you to find her."

"Then I will. What are her weaknesses?"

Oracle chimed in. "Her body is as solid as clay in water. If you get her in the water or freeze her, you can bring her in."

"Got it. Now how do I find her?"

"Easy." Dick said with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. "Follow the black goo."

I nodded and made the batjet go invisible, flying off to look for a trail.

Looks like she did want me to find her, because it was easy to find the said trail.

It brought me to an old ink-making factory called Ink inc.

I sighed at the name.

"Really? Horrible name, worse pun."

And how convenient it was where Inque led me to.

I landed the jet, wondering just how much sillier tonight was going to get.

I stepped onto the roof and entered the clearly shut down factory.

"Careful." Oracle said. "She can become invisible by blending in with anything purple or black."

"I'm in an abandoned factory with next to no light. That's not helpful."

"Would you rather us not help you, Vance?" Dick snapped.

"Screw you." I snapped back.

Dick and I haven't been getting along, if you couldn't tell.

I guess it's because he can't stand the idea of replacing Bruce.

Barbara says if it was up to him, I'd be on the streets right now instead of tracking down super-villains.

I guess I understand.

Doesn't mean I have to take it, though.

I stopped dead in my tracks at the sound of quiet movement and pulled out a batarang.

I pressed a spot above my eyebrow and switched to heat vision.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

"That won't work, Beyond."

Dick refuses to call me Batman, which only backs up my theory that he doesn't like the idea of me being Batman.

"Inque generates no heat. No cold, either."

"That would have been useful to know. I guess I'll have to even the odds."

I pressed a button on my wrist and the suit went into stealth mode.

I creeped around, trying to find her, but not a clue as to where she was hiding.

Eventually, I managed to check every floor.

"Oracle? She's not here. I'm coming back to-"

Something covered my mouth.

"Leaving so soon?"

She wrapped herself around me, so I couldn't move.

"Just let me crush your body without a fight and I'll grant you a painless death."

Her voice sounded as if she was talking from underwater.

"Don't resist. Just accept your fate."

I managed to get my hand free and remove her arm from my mouth.

"Tempting..."

I reached for my belt and pulled out a blue Batarang and stuck it into her arm.

She froze, encased in ice.

"But I'll pass."

I broke myself out of Inque's grasp by breaking apart the ice.

"I'm going to need some help transporting her, guys."

I wish I could say she didn't get away.

After we towed in the frozen blob, Dick managed to get a small part of her out of the ice and onto a microscope slab.

"What do you plan to do with that?"

"Research. Learn more about her."

"Shouldn't we just kill her first? So she doesn't get away?"

"You're a pathetic excuse for a Batman. That's not how we did things and it never will be."

He went to put the extracted piece of Inque into the analyzer, but it quickly came to life and managed to get away.

"Dammit." Grayson swore.

"Would Bruce have let it get away?"

"I didn't see you doing anything about it."

"At least I-"

Suddenly, the woman in the ice dissolved to nothing.

Of course that could only mean one thing...

I sighed.

"Great...

...She got away."


	6. Spellbound Ghul Pt1

Time...

Eventually it'll take us all away...

Or at least...

Most of us.

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **SPELLBOUND GHUL: PART 1**

A few months went by after Inque's escape.

Not a single clue where she went off to.

I was prowling the city when I heard a pinging in my ears.

I sat on the edge of the roof I was standing on, looking at the polluted sky and pressed a button on the cowl's right ear.

"Yes, Dick?"

"It's Oracle. Dick is asleep."

"So, for once I don't have to hear his voice."

Oracle sighed. "Jake, you need to understand. Bruce was a father to Dick. The idea of someone replacing him as Batman... It'll take some time."

I sighed. "Fine. I'll play along."

"Thank you."

I blinked and looked over to the building across from me.

"Hold on, Barbs."

"Only Grayson can call me the that."

"Whatever, Barbs."

She groaned in disapproval.

I chuckled and jumped over to the other building.

I stumbled a bit, holding my head before continuing to chase after the red blur.

There was no denying the fact he knew I was chasing him.

"The real Batman wouldn't have tipped him off." said a familiar, grumpy voice.

Great, I thought. The king of bitchiness is awake.

Of course I didn't say it out loud. Not after _just_ promising to give Dick some time to get used to the idea of a new Batman.

Instead of saying anything, I continued running.

And running.

And running.

At least thirty minutes passed as I went after him.

Guy was determined, I'll give him that.

I put my foot in front of me.

But it never touched the ground.

"VANCE!" I heard them both yell.

I screamed while I fell to the ground.

I hit the ground.

But I didn't die.

I fell about 30 feet and didn't die.

Why?

Then I noticed the world around me.

It was shifting.

Wobbly.

Colors kept changing.

I'd consider the idea I was drugged, but I didn't have anything to eat the past 2 days as part of my training.

I certainly couldn't get up in this state and my thoughts started to fade.

Dick and Oracle kept shouting my name, but I began to black out.

Hours, maybe days (I wasn't certain) later, I woke up.

I was unmasked.

I was sitting there in my every day black shirt and blue jeans.

"Hello, Batman." said a voice that sounded ancient, thousands of years old.

My vision was blurry, so I couldn't see who the voice belonged to.

"You won't see for the next hour. I don't want you to know where we are just yet, Jake Vance."

I groaned and tried to get up.

"Don't move." he threatened.

I laid back down.

"I want to make you an offer."

"I'll pass."

"Hear me out, Beyond."

Great.

Another jerk off calling me that.

Just what I wanted.

"Be my ally, Jake. It's not too late to leave your friends behind and join me."

"Why would I?"

"I plan to cleanse Gotham, Jake. The last Bat wouldn't do it. He didn't have what it takes. Not until his final moments, anyways. By then, though, it was too late."

"You mean killing, don't you?"

"How quick you catch on."

I could hear a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"I want you to join me before they corrupt you into defending criminals instead of taking them out."

"Wait... Now... Now I know who you are."

"You do? Then what's my name?"

"Ra's al Ghul. Your name is Ra's al Ghul."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know I said this would be one story made longer, but I felt I couldn't keep it going in just one part without dragging it on. So, I'm going to wait a few days before writing the next chapter. I have been giving out quite a few chapters quite quickly, so I'm going to give you guys a break for now and I'll get back to this in a day or two.**


	7. Spellbound Ghul Pt2

Murder

Is it really the way to stop crime?

Can you really stop crime with another crime?

Is it worth throwing away everything that we stand for?

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **SPELLBOUND GHUL PART 2**

"Yes. I am Ra's al Ghul, Head of the Demon."

I furrowed my brows and spat in the direction the voice was coming from.

"You're a sociopath."

Ra's sighed and wiped the saliva off his cheek.

"Spellbinder, knock him out and put Jake where we found him."

Before I could say anything, I saw a red and black swirling for a few brief moments before passing out.

A short while later, I woke back up in the Batcave.

I sat up.

I felt groggy as hell.

"How are you feeling?" Oracle asked, sitting next to the medical bed.

"How did I get back here?" I asked, rubbing my head.

"Dick went to retrieve you once your suits biometrics went back online and sent out a signal back to the batcave."

I looked at Dick for a few moments and nodded.

I looked back at Oracle, realizing I hadn't answered her question. "Feeling like I slept horribly on a bed of rocks."

"That's how Bruce always described it when he went up against Mad Hatter or Scarecrow."

"Who?"

"They were before your time." Dick said, sitting at the batcomputer. "You wouldn't know who they are.

"Right. So, tell me about this Spellbinder."

Dick started typing away at the computer.

"Ira Billings. Former high school psychologist. Fired for secretly drugging kids and testing chemicals on them in daily meetings. Sent to prison for forty years, but he broke free. Now it appears he teamed up with Ra's."

"Wait, isn't he a criminal? Why would he team up with a man Hell-bent on killing criminals?"

Oracle and I went over to Dick, though I had to watch my step, as I was still woozy from being knocked out.

"Ra's broke him out of prison. It's likely he's just paying his debts. I'd say Ra's needed him to get to you."

"So, a mind control freak and a criminal with the goal of killing all criminals have teamed up to either get me to work with them or kill me."

"Yep." They both said in unison.

"I'm going back out there. There's an offer I need to decline."

I saw my batsuit back in its place with the others. Totally black except for the symbol on the chest and the belt with white lenses where the eyes are.

I went over to grab it, but Grayson stood in front of me.

"You're not going. These are two criminals you can't handle. You'll let me take care of this and you'll go rest up for school."

"I'm not in school. I got expelled."

"Go upstairs and rest."

"I can take them."

"NO."

I clenched my fists and snapped.

"Why do you care if I can or can't take them, anyways?! Wouldn't it be better if I did die, anyways?! You hate the idea of me being Batman so much, I might as well die. Get out of your hair."

That stunned him long enough for me to grab my suit and get in the jet.

Hours of silence passed by.

Not a word from Oracle or the former Nightwing.

Not a sign of Ra's or Spellbinder.

I sighed and started to turn the jet around, but then I saw Spellbinder on one of the roof tops.

I landed the jet, watching to see what he would do.

I waited ten minutes, but he didn't even twitch.

I guess he was waiting for me.

I got out of the jet and walked towards him, carefully watching my step this time.

"I was hoping you'd show up."

"Well, here I am, SB. Where is Ra's?"

"Behind you."

I turned around.

What I saw was an old, though definitely not frail, man with a pointed chin, black hair with gray sideburns, and demonicly shaped green eyes.

He wore a black-ish brown medieval tunic with a katana at his side.

"So, you're the great Ra's al Ghul.

I expected you to be shorter. You know, since you lived so long."

Ra's frowned, but kept his composure.

"So, are you taking me up on my offer?"

"No. I'm here to kick your ass."

I jumped over at Ra's and he easily knocked me to the side.

"You should reconsider."

"Ra's, I agree with you. Some criminals do need to die. But I wont join you if it means leaving behind Nightwing and Oracle."

Ra's started to laugh.

"What? What's so funny?"

Ra's looked me in the eyes and I got a horrible feeling in my stomach.

"You won't need to worry about them for long."


	8. Spellbound Ghul Pt3

Two foes.

A mind control freak

And a madman Hell-bent on killing criminals.

This won't be easy.

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **SPELLBOUND GHUL PART 3**

I jumped at Ra's again, this time in anger.

"If you hurt them, I'll rip your lungs out."

He laughed.

"If you kill me, the monitor in my heart will shut off, giving off the alert for my men to kill your friends."

I had my hands on his neck, contemplating what to do.

Then I remembered something.

Ra's honor.

"Fight me, Ghul."

"What?"

"You and me. One on one. Your friend leaves us to it. I win, you go quietly into hiding and you won't come back."

"Why would I agree to that?"

"You win, you can kill my friends. I won't try to stop you either. And I'll join you.

You have to accept the challenge.

It wouldn't be honorable for you to do otherwise."

I got off Ra's and stood back.

Ra's rubbed his neck.

"Very well. Spellbinder, leave us."

He ran off.

Ra's pulled out his sword and started walking towards me.

Ra's swung his sword and I ducked down, throwing my batline, connected to a Batarang, tying Ra's up so he can't move.

"You lose."

"Not so easily."

He broke the binds.

How?

That line requires a special blade to cut.

It can't be broken by mere muscle!

Who the hell is this guy really?

Certainly no one I've seen before.

He got up off the ground.

"Not bad. But not nearly as good as Bruce. Try harder, Beyond."

I tossed a batarang at him and when he went to block it, I threw a smoke pellet, going into stealth mode.

I quietly stepped around Ra's while he was dazed and punched his head, took his sword from him, and broke it.

"Now we fight on even grounds."

I became visible again.

I stood there, waiting for him to move.

I stared him down, waiting for the slightest hint of movement. Trying to find a weakness in his stance.

"I don't have all day." He taunted.

He has perfect balance, no environment disadvantages.

This guy is an expert, mindful of his surroundings.

Dick was right.

I shouldn't have challenged him.

But I can't complain now.

I have to fight him.

I ran at Ra's and tried to gut him with the blades on my wrist.

He jumped and kicked me to the ground.

I stood up and tried again.

Same result.

"I'd say you chose the wrong one of us to fight."

He kicked me right in the ribs.

I started coughing up blood.

"No, I didn't."

I kicked his leg out from under him and forced him to the ground, getting on top of him.

I began punching at Ra's, leaving harsh bruises over his eyes.

Soon I realized what I was doing, though.

Ra's nose was bleeding and broken, his eyes were bloodshot, and blood was spilling in his mouth.

He was still alive, though, and still conscious.

I backed away from him.

"That's why you lose, Jake..."

Ra's said as he still managed to keep getting up.

"You refuse to kill..."

He stepped closer.

"And you can't stand beating someone up."

I frowned and pulled out a batarang.

"You truly are inferior to Bruce."

I threw the batarang.

This time he was knocked out cold.

I smiled and walked away.

I had won.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: That's the end to this trilogy! But will that really be the last we see of Spellbinder? You guys will need to keep reading! Thank you guys for reading this far! I know it's a subpar story, but the fact you still read this far means a lot!**


	9. Charlie Charlie

The supernatural.

After Inque, Spellbinder and Ra's, I figured it was real.

But is it controlled only by us?

Or are there demons among us?

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **CHARLIE CHARLIE**

"What is this schwarbage?" I asked myself, setting my tablet down.

"What is it?" Barbara asked.

"Some ridiculous trend. Something called Charlie Charlie."

Barbara and Dick looked at each other.

"Did you say Charlie Charlie?" Dick asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Nothing. Just an old fad from 2015."

I nodded and leaned back in my chair.

"So, anything new happening, Barbs?"

Dick frowned at me as I said that.

"Yes." she said. "Two teenage girls at the Vintall Hotel were killed."

"I'm on it."

I suited up and got in the jet.

"Which room?"

"215."

"Got it."

Dick has been learning to not snap at me so much the last few months.

I like the change of pace.

I started the jet up and flew to the building.

I looked around and found the room blocked off by police tape.

I ripped it open nonchalantly and walked in, switching to detective vision as I surveyed the room.

I saw a piece of paper on the floor with two broken pencils.

"Yes, no, no, yes?"

The girls must have been playing the challenge when they died.

I scanned the room for any possible leads like fingerprints or signs of struggle.

Nothing.

Everything was in place and the only fingerprints in the room belonged to the two girls.

"Oracle, I can't find anything sus-"

"FREEZE!" a cop yelled.

Dammit, how didn't I hear him coming?

"The criminal always comes back to the scene of the crime."

He pulled out his gun.

I threw a smoke pellet at him and took off through the open window.

Back at the batcave, I gave Oracle the video card kept in the cowl so she can see what I saw in the hotel.

"Absolutely nothing is out of place here... This is impossible. Not a mark on their bodies, either. No blood, nothing crushed. No bruises on the neck."

Dick frowned at the screen.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"I had a friend back when I was nine. He did this same challenge back in 2015, when this fad was still new. He was killed, just like that. No signs of struggle, blood, nothing. Same thing happened to one of my old teachers a month later."

This was making me feel uneasy.

"So, this happened three times?"

"Yes."

I looked at Dick, unbelieving.

"You're not saying you believe Charlie Charlie is real?"

"No. I don't believe in that crap. He's a myth."

He was lying.

I could hear it in his voice.

It wouldn't help him to push it, though.

This is clearly heavy on him.

I sat next to Oracle at the computer, watching her scrub through the video.

"So, what are we going to do?" I asked.

"About?"

"The police thinking I did it."

"You think the cops would arrest someone trying to take the name of Batman and stop crime all because you were at the scene of a crime after it was committed? You think the cops will consider someone barely trained killed two teenage girls without leaving behind any traces, leaving the apartment completely in tact, without alerting anyone else in the building and without leaving any sign of how they died? Not going to happen."

"Right." I said as I got off my chair. "I need to go think about all this."

I walked out to the cliff by the manor when I heard something weird in my head say "Stop chasing me."

And I was certain I wasn't imagining it.


	10. Are You There?

What the Hell?

What is going on?

What's happening?

Who are you?

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **ARE YOU THERE?**

"I swear, I wasn't just imagining it."

"Jake, just as I was starting to somewhat respect you, you come to me with fairy tails." Dick said as he worked on his files.

I clenched my fists and felt anger overwhelm me, but I managed to keep myself together.

"I know you believe me. You said you didn't believe Charlie exists, but I heard the doubt in your voice."

"You heard me wrong, then."

I sighed, not really surprised he'd be so stubborn about this.

From what I heard, the original Batman was grounded in reality.

Not surprising he'd teach his pupils to be the same way.

"I guess I'll just have to see for myself."

I went up into the mansion and into my room, bugging the room with cameras and mics, leaving the suit on so I can hand over the evidence gathered to the police... if any, that is.

"All right, guess I need to call on Charlie myself."

I laid down a piece of paper on a table and drew a huge plus on it, placing two pencils on the paper, the bottom one horizontally, the other vertically.

On the paper, in each corner was a 'Yes' or a 'No', with the yes's being in the bottom right and top left and the no's in the upper right and bottom left corners.

"Here goes nothing...

Charlie Charlie, are you there?"

I sat there for a short while, waiting for the pencil to move.

I repeated the question when nothing happened.

Nothing happened.

Until I started to get up and turn off the cameras.

"What the?" I asked as one of the pencils moved to 'Yes'

I felt a chill in the air and my stomach felt like a bottomless pit.

I sat back at the table.

"Charlie Charlie, did you kill those people? My friend's friend, teacher, and the two teenage girls?"

The pencil did a complete 180 and pointed at the other yes column.

"Thanks. I'm done here. That's enough evidence."

I broke the pencils and threw the paper away.

What I didn't notice before I did that was the pencil turned to a 'No' column as soon as I said I was done.

I turned off the mics and was just about to turn off the cameras, but then the room turned red.

It felt cold.

Cold as ice.

A wind was blowing...

A wind was blowing indoors...

"What's going on here?"

"I WARNED YOU!"

I heard a... transparent voice say?

How can a voice be transparent?

I looked behind me and I saw a...

"...Ghost."

The spirit screamed.

"DON'T CALL ME A GHOST!"

"Um, okay..."

"I WARNED YOU! I WARNED YOU!"

His voice was raspy.

And on the topic of describing him, his clothes were tattered.

He was wearing a white tuxedo, stained in red.

Almost all of the skin on his face is missing.

He was wearing a torn up glove on his right hand, his other hand missing.

He also had dark, though very transparent, skin.

He has red eyes and a red glow surrounded him.

"Yeah, you warned me, but it's my job to not let the wrong person go to jail, so..."

"NO! YOU HAVE DISRUPTED MY VERY SOUL! THE ONLY WAY TO END THIS DISTURBANCE IS TO KILL YOU!"

"I'd rather not die, thanks."

"YOUR SOUL WILL BE TORN APART! LIKE MINE WAS!"

"Geeze, do you ever shut up?"

"LAUGH NOW, BUT I WILL KILL YOU, VANCE! AND THEN YOUR FRIENDS!"


	11. Demon

He's real.

He's actually real.

Now he has been summoned into my house.

And I have no idea how to get rid of him.

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **DEMON**

I stood there, watching Charlie, having no idea what to do.

Every move I made, he'd mirror.

I thought to run, but how do you run from a spirit?

A haunting laughter was clouding my thoughts.

"Who are you?" I whispered, holding my hands to my head.

"YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!"

He flew right through me and I fell to my knees, crying out in pain.

"WEAKLING!"

I grunted and tried tackling the demon, but I went right through him, causing intense pain all over my body.

My vision turned red and I was certain blood was pouring out of my eyes.

I curled up on the floor, twisting and turning my body to find a spot where I wasn't in so much pain, but I found no such relief.

"YOU CAN'T FIGHT ME!"

I got up off the floor, knowing I'd do no good cowering on the ground in pain.

"STOP GETTING UP! I'LL JUST KEEP KNOCKING YOU DOWN!"

Then I heard someone at the door.

"Vance!" I heard Dick yell.

The door locked itself.

Dick tried to knock it down, but it didn't even move.

"NO HELP!" Charlie screamed.

I looked around the room in a semi-panic, trying to get any idea of how to stop the demon.

Then it came to me.

Demons...

Demons burn in Hell...

Burn...

Fire...

I glanced at the paper I used to summon Charlie.

"You're not unstoppable."

"YOU CAN'T KILL ME!"

I jumped towards the paper.

Charlie stood in my way, so I went right through him a second time.

The pain was worse this time.

It feels as though I've been shredded to a billion pieces.

Blood poured out of all my pores.

My vision was pulsing.

I grabbed the paper as the ghost stood... on me? Over me?

His spirit surrounded my body, the pain increasing every second.

I pulled a lighter out of my belt with a trembling hand.

I lit the paper on fire and the demon lit up screaming.

I stepped away from him, holding up the burning paper as he tried to grab it.

The fire spread to my arm, but the heat was nothing compared to everything else.

Soon it was nothing but ash.

The demon disappeared in the flames.

The room turned back to normal, as if Charlie was never summoned.

The fires disappeared, my suit was undamaged.

All the pain in my body was no more as the vision of blood was gone, my sight returning to normal.

The door to my room unlocked.

Dick rushed in and caught me in his arms as I passed out.

Hours later, I woke up in the batcave.

Dick and Barbara were watching over me.

"Oh thank God..." Barbara said as they both sighed in relief. "We thought you were dead."

"Well, I'm not dead. I wished I was for a few moments, though." I joked as I sat up.

"Did the cameras pick up the ghost?"

"No."

I sighed and held my head.

"So, it was all for nothing, then."

"No. You managed to kill a demon that was destroying everyone who called on him just to see if he was real and managed to stop him from harming anyone else." Dick said. "You're a hero, Jake. And this time... you may have just succeeded Bruce."


	12. An Old Foe

So...

I may have fallen in love with a crazy killer.

How?

Well...

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **AN OLD FOE**

A year has past since I last fought her.

My first supercriminal.

Though, at the time, she wasn't so super.

She's caused quite a stir lately, though.

One bank destroyed, thirty dead, one crippled.

Of course I had to turn my attention to her.

Just like she wanted.

She left notes all over her crime scenes saying she wanted to us to meet.

Of course, if I was going to go there, I couldn't fall for the same trick twice.

I wasn't going to get caught off guard twice.

So, I updated the cowl to tell me the levels of liquid density on any solid surface.

I jumped off the building I was waiting on and landed in an old alleyway.

Classic 2020, where bricks were still used to make buildings until everything started being made out of unheated steel.

This is where she told me to meet her.

I switched to Inque vision, which is what I called the new feature, which allowed me to quickly spot her as she was trying to blend in with an old horror movie poster.

"I can see you, Inque. What do you want?"

She flowed through the air and stood in front of me.

"It has been a while, Batman."

"Don't stall. Get to your point and make it fast before I decide to haul you off to Arkham Asylum."

"I need your help, Batman. It's the Jokerz. While I was working with them, I discovered they were building some sort of particle dissolver."

I looked at Inque as if she was crazy, which she kinda was.

"I see you don't believe me."

"You have killed thirty people, blew up a bank, crippled someone and, a year ago, tried to kill me by crushing me. Not only that, but you just admitted you were working with Jokerz, a group known to be batshit crazy. And you just said the Jokerz were building a particle dissolver, something they're not smart enough to build and hasn't been built before because it doesn't even exist."

Inque frowned at me. "Fine. Don't believe me. I may have killed, but only to get your attention. This is way too far. Why would I risk getting caught just to tell you lies?"

"To lure me into a trap."

I could see the anger in her face. I could see how frustrated she was getting. I got into a fighting stance.

"Fine! Don't believe me. I'll just have to figure this out for myself."

She turned around.

"Wait! I still need to turn you in."

I grabbed Inque's hand and, for a brief moment, felt a jolt in my heart that caused me to let go of her almost instantly, watching her run off.

I left to the batcave.

"What the Hell, Jake?!" Dick yelled. "Are you an idiot? Why would you let her go?!"

"For once, I agree with Dick about you. That was stupid, Jake." Barbara said.

"I tried! But... I couldn't. I'm not sure why."

That was a lie.

I knew what it was.

But I didn't want to admit I may be falling in love with an enemy.

It was clear on his face Dick also knew I was lying.

"Jake, next time you see her, you'll take her to Arkham. I know what you're going through. I've seen it happen with Bruce. There was a woman called Selina Kyle. Catwoman. They were very much in love with each other, but Bruce never let it cloud his judgment."

I sighed and figured he was right.

I shook my head and went back over to the training bots.

However, the more I fought, the more my mind went to Inque. There was something about her, I couldn't tell what, that won't let me stop thinking of her.

All I could think of was her curves, her voice, how her hand felt in mine.

But thinking of her made me go back to when she was talking about The Jokerz.

I started to question...

Was she really lying?

Or has my crush on her shaken me up?


	13. Inque's POV

A particle dissolver...

It shouldn't exist...

But it's being built by the craziest people in the city...

And Batman won't help...

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **INQUE'S POV**

I was returning to the Jokerz hideout after my meeting with the Bat.

The Jokerz...

They have no idea that I know what I know.

I entered the meeting room, sitting as if I was waiting for hours.

They entered the room.

There was three of them.

There's Pirate, known as such because of his love of boats and his missing left eye. Dangerous with a sword.

There's Kira, named as such because Kira is the Japanese word for killer. Fitting as one of her favorite hobbies is killing. Especially with pistols. She said "It lets me get up close and personal with my victims." when I asked her why a few weeks back.

Then there's the guy with muscles so big, it's a wonder how he could still move. He's named after his favorite weapon. Chainsaw. I've seen him use his chainsaw on a Joker that talked back and, let's just say, it was one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen.

He's obviously the leader of this gang.

"What took you so long?" I asked casually.

Then I realized how dumb of a question that was after noticing the blood on their biker outfits.

I was certain it wasn't theirs.

"Just shut up, damn bitch." Kira said.

Oh, did I forget to mention?

Kira hates my nonexistent guts.

Ever since I joined this group, she's been trying to get me killed by framing me of all sorts of things.

She's never said why, but I was told she's the same with all women.

"Don't mind her, Inque. You know how she gets." Pirate said.

"Yeah. She's an ass to everyone. Doesn't bother me. So, where have you all been?"

"Business." Chainsaw said with a voice so dark and threatening that even I couldn't hide my fear. "Now, Inque, how'd your deal with Batman, go? Huh?" He asked coldly.

"What?"

"Don't think you can just up and go wherever you want without me knowing." Kira smirked at me as Chainsaw said that. "Now, tell me..." He put his face five inches away from mine, so I could smell his horrible tobacco breath. "...Why'd you seek out the Bat?"

"I thought I could lure him here so we could kill him. He was too smart to follow." I lied.

He slapped me across the face, but I maintained my composure. Besides, it's not like it hurt.

"NEVER bring Batman here. That could ruin our plans!"

I decided to act clueless.

"What plans?"

"None of your business. Just shut your damn trap."

I shrugged, but I knew my suspicions were confirmed.

He may not know I know, but he obviously doesn't think I'd be a threat, since he's not hiding the fact there is some plot.

I glanced around the room, acting bored.

"So, Chainsaw, what do you want next?" Kira asked.

"Well, everything is ready now. So all I need you guys to do is kill Batman. We can't get this underway until he's out of the picture."

I scowled at the idea.

Ever since Batman held my hand, I couldn't help but get sickened at the thought of him dead.

"How do you suppose we do that? It's not like we just walk right up to him and stab him without some fight and he's obviously trained."

"I just give the orders. You guys figure it out. And do it fast. I won't allow any slip ups on this one."

I frowned at him, but I couldn't say anything.

I had to play along for now.

If doing that means helping kill the Bat, what choice do I have but to kill him?

I was going to kill him a year ago, anyways. With no remorse.

Why would I feel bad about it now?

I just hope I can get him to help me stop the Jokerz before I have to kill him...


	14. Inque's POV 2

I have to kill Batman.

At the same time, I need to convince him to help me.

All without getting caught by my boss, Chainsaw, cooperating with Batman.

This will be damn near impossible.

 **BATMAN BEYOND**

 **EPISODE:**

 **INQUE'S POV 2**

So, here's the plan we came up with:

Kira will pretend to be caught with a sword to her neck by Pirate. When the Bat comes, I take him from behind and hold him while Kira shoots him.

Horrible, I know.

Blame the fact that Kira is not the brightest of the group and is only second to Chainsaw when it comes to stubbornness.

"Are you certain this will work? It seems pretty obvious." I asked.

"Of course." Kira said with an annoyed tone. "Batman is a dumbass. He won't have a clue what's coming."

"He's smarter than you think. Definitely smart enough to catch on to this. Don't underestimate him." I warned her.

"I'm not worried. He's just some stupid wannabe playing Halloween. I don't even see why we-"

Kira got knocked over by a batarang before she could finish.

"Stupid, huh? Well, I'm at least smarter than you. I've been waiting for you an hour before you got here." Batman taunted with his disguised, electronic voice.

It annoyed me, but it had a certain charm to it.

Kira got up and ran at Batman with Pirate, who tried to take a stab at Batman.

Obviously he countered them both with ease.

Pirate and Kira were both on the floor in a heavy daze before half a minute could pass.

"So, you weren't lying about the Jokerz."

"Not at all. I don't lie, Bat."

"You're still a criminal. Now, come quietly."

"No."

He threw a blue batarang as soon as I said no, but I know now what it does.

I jumped out of the way, retaliating by lashing with my left hand formed into a blade.

His suit barely showed any type of damage.

Obviously either Kevlar or technologically advanced armor; Likely the latter.

"Nice try." He said.

"I try my best."

"Your best isn't good enough."

A power line behind me exploded and knocked me to the ground.

I looked behind me and saw the broken remains of a yellow batarang.

"Electric batarangs. Impressive." I said as I got up not even two seconds later.

Unlike Kira and Pirate, I'm not weak and useless.

I tried to kick his legs out from under him, but he just simply sidestepped me.

I decided to run to try to lure him to new grounds.

He knew he couldn't let me get away too quickly, so he hurried and handcuffed the Jokerz on the ground before following me.

I had to get him alone.

I needed to talk with him where the others wouldn't hear me.

After running all over the run-down district I finally stopped at an alley behind an old, nearly collapsed theater.

The sign said Crime Alley.

I turned around and saw him standing behind me.

Now was my chance.

"Listen to me, Batman."

"No. You just assaulted me and confessed you're working with a criminal organization. As organized as those psychos can get."

"I attacked you so you'd follow me! I couldn't just ask you for a chat in front of Kira and Pirate!"

"...Kira and Pirate?"

"Nevermind their names. Anyways, isn't the fact I didn't lie about working with the Jokerz prove I was being honest last night?"

"Not at all." He said as he started walking towards me.

I backed up.

"I'm telling you the truth!" I pleaded. "I know what they're planning!"

"You're a killer. Your words mean nothing."

I undisguised my face and walked up to him, looking in his eyes. I put my hands on his shoulders.

"I may have killed, but it was only to get you to meet up with me. I'm not a liar, Batman."

Even though he was wearing a mask, I could see he's struggling to decide what to do.

"I may have killed, I may have assaulted you, but I swear I wouldn't lie about something like this. You're smart, Bat. You know I'm not lying."

He looked back into my eyes and it took a good bit of my strength to not look away.

"Even if you're telling the truth, how could I trust you not to turn on me?"

"I can't turn on you. I'll be destroyed by this machine if it becomes operational."

He took a few seconds, the longest of my life, before speaking.

"Fine. I'll help you. But if you pull any tricks-"

"I won't."


	15. Inque's POV 3: The Plan

Now Batman is on my side.

And now I need to keep him that way.

I also need to keep Chainsaw unaware of everything.

Looks like it will be a busy night.

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **INQUE'S POV 3: The Plan**

"So, then. What's your plan?" Batman asked after bringing me to his Batcave.

He was reluctant, but his pal Nightwing convinced him. Said he wanted to run tests on my DNA's structure.

"I need you to be my eyes and ears. I can't get into restricted rooms back at the hideout. I need you to find this machine while I stall my boss."

"Any ideas where I should start looking?" He asked with quite clear skepticism.

"I'd start with the ground floor. Direct line to the power cables and the generators. Lots of space as well. It's a perfect source for how much power the thing would take to work."

"Which is how much?"

"I'm not certain, but it could possibly black out the whole city for quite a few months."

"Seems like you got it figured out." Batgirl said.

I looked at the woman in the wheelchair.

By how the costumes fit Nightwing and Batgirl, it was apparent they hadn't worn them in a long time. They likely were just wearing them to hide their identities from me.

"Yes, I do. Except for how I'm going to keep Chainsaw busy."

"Simple. Talk to him about how you killed me." Batman said.

He went over to the cases and pulled out a duplicate of his suit.

"What's that for?" I asked.

"Proof."

He began to rip the suit up. Then he took his glove off and used a batarang to cut open his skin on his hand.

I sat and watch as he stained and destroyed the suit before he tossed it to me.

I outstretched my hand to grab it.

"Hopefully this will do." I worried. "If Chainsaw doesn't believe me after I give him this, then I'm screwed."

"Don't keep it." Nightwing said as he worked at the computer.

"With the people I'm giving this to? No promises."

Nightwing glared at me. "You're lucky to even be here. Don't even think about betraying our trust."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Nightwing sighed. "Now I see why you have a crush on her. You two are a lot alike."

I looked at Batman, surprised, but he looked away.

So... He felt it too...

I almost smiled, but then I remembered the task at hand and stood up. "So... Let's go beatdown some clowns."

We decided to wait a few hours before going to the hideout.

I held the destroyed batsuit in my hand as the real Bat stood next to me in, as he called it, stealth mode.

"We meet back here in one hour. If one of us doesn't make it here by that time, assume they're in trouble." he whispered.

I nodded and went over to the rundown building.

Chainsaw was waiting for me.

"So, goo girl is back." He spoke with that menacing voice. "I hope you didn't return with bad news."

I could tell he was pissed.

Usually, Jokerz are all smiles and laughs. Not this group. Only killing and torture can make these people happy. They're typically angry otherwise.

"I got great news. Batman is dead." I spoke with fake glee.

"Oh? Well, you better not be lying." Chainsaw warned me, crossing his arms as he smoked a huge cigarette. He clearly didn't believe me. "You know I hate liars."

"I know. So I brought this for proof."

I tossed the suit to his feet.

He looked down and, for a moment, I thought I could see an impressed expression on his face.

"So, you did kill him. Not bad. There may be a promotion for you yet. Now, tell me something..." He leaned in close to my face. "What was his identity?"

"He was some random kid. A no-name playing hero."

"What did he look like?"

I paused for a second.

I had to think of carefully on how to describe him. I don't want to accurately describe him by mistake. Though it surprisingly didn't take long to think.

"He had his hair dyed a bluish purple, he had red eyes, likely from genetic modification, and a scar in the shape of an X on his forehead." The first two were not uncommon among the public. Bizarre hair and eye colors was the new fad, so it's not unrealistic.

"Interesting..." he smiled.

For a few seconds, I thought he fell for it. But then he opened up his big, fat, cigarette-stinking mouth.

"Because that's not what my guard tells me."

I frowned. "What?"

"I'm not stupid. I knew as soon as you first talked to the bat that you'd betray me. Every room has a thermal scan, Inque. Now I have your friend because you were too damn stupid to realize."


	16. Inque's and Batman's POV

It was cold.

Freezing.

I was about to die.

And I was certain Batman was too.

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **INQUE'S AND BATMAN'S POV**

I glared at Chainsaw, but, just to be sure, I needed to test if he was bluffing.

"You don't have him. He's dead. I showed you your proof."

He grabbed me by the neck, but I slipped out of his grip.

"Bitch, I know who I have. So shut the hell up before you make it worse for yourself."

"If you have him, then show me."

He called over two guards.

Both were holding onto huge, metal staffs that gave out a small spark at the ends occasionally.

They also had shock collars around their necks.

When someone fails or betrays Chainsaw, there's only three ways out:

1\. You die.  
2\. You get tortured and die.  
3\. You get tortured and then enslaved.

There's no getting out of this without getting a horrible punishment.

"Follow me." He growled.

He and the guards led me to a secret staircase.

This building goes even further down that I imagined...

When we reached the bottom, the lighting got dim enough to strain even my own eyes.

The only light was at the end of the hall, dim and red.

When we got to the door below the light, I could see a sign to the left saying TORTURE CHAMBER.

"You're going to act like it was him you betrayed. Unless you want to be frozen forever, that is."

We walked into the room and I was horrified by what I saw.

A teenage looking kid was on the concrete floor, chained on very short chains.

I'd estimate the chains were barely twelve inches.

He only had his pants on, making the his harsh wounds visible.

Almost all over his front and back was huge, purple, throbbing bulges, all bleeding. He was also missing a few teeth and some of his hair. His nose was bent a way it should not have been.

Chainsaw walked up to him.

"So, little boy. What makes you think you can just break in so easily?" He kneeled down next to him, pressing his lit cigar into the Bat's eye, causing Batman to scream in pain.

Chainsaw laughed.

"I guess you can't withstand much pain. Good. That'll make this all the more fun. Speaking of pain, how much does it hurt to know you were betrayed?"

Batman coughed up blood.

"What... do you mean?" He struggled to say.

"Inque. She thought of this whole trap. Everything set by her."

Batman looked at me and the shock on his face made me feel sick.

"What? Hurt? Surprised that a criminal you stupidly trusted would turn on you?"

Chainsaw laughed.

And laughed.

And laughed.

I've never seen him laugh so much at once.

It was frightening.

He nodded to the guards and told them to leave.

"Ya know somethin', kid?" He stepped over the teenager. "I don't even know your name. I don't even care. All I care about is that I'm about to put down the big, bad Bat once and for all."

He opened a huge closet in the back of the room.

"And Inque? Your usefulness has run out."

The floor opened up below me and I fell into icy water below.

It was cold.

Freezing.

I could hardly move as my body washed away from itself.

I was about to die.

And I was certain Batman was too.

 **BATMAN'S POV:**

My vision was red.

I could barely move.

I was betrayed by Inque.

And I was certain I wouldn't get out of this alive.

"Not so nice knowin' ya, kid." I heard the big guy say.

Behind me, the sounds of a chainsaw started up could be heard.

I closed my eyes, ready to die.

But then the sounds of fighting erupted.

I twisted the chains to turn around.

I saw the servants trying to fight Chainsaw off.

One of them glanced in my direction and ran towards me.

"I'll get you out." He whispered.

"No. Save Inque." I told him.

Inque may have betrayed me, but I felt something more was going on.

He nodded and jumped into the water.

 **INQUE'S POV:**

My eyes were half closed and I was about to black out.

Then I saw a figure above me.

Swimming towards me.

It was one of Saw's servants.

His whole neck was bloody.

I wondered why until I noticed he wasn't wearing his shock collar.

He grabbed my frozen arm and pulled me to the surface.

When we got up to the top, I was surprised to see what was happening.

Five of the guards were fighting off the boss.

And Batman was still alive.

I ran over to him and shaped my right hand into a key, quickly freeing him.

"Thanks." He said. "Now, tell me why you lied and betrayed me."

"I didn't. He caught me. I was forced to play along."

"Why should I believe you?"

"I grabbed this off him while we were walking to here." I gave him the batsuit that I handed to Chainsaw.

I could see a smile play on his lips.

"You take on Chainsaw, I'll find the machine." He said to me.

"Deal."

He ran off out of the room and I turned to look at Chainsaw.

He was covered in blood.

All the servants, including the one that helped me out of the water, were dead.

So it was just me and him.

He snarled at me.

"Get ready for the fight of your life, bitch."


	17. Inque's and Batman's POV 2

Batman's taking out the machine.

I'm taking out a clown.

Looks like this is the fight I've been waiting for.

Let's get started.

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **INQUE'S AND BATMAN'S POV 2**

 **INQUE'S POV:**

"So, bitch, are you ready to die?"

"Only if you are."

He ran at me with his saw in his hand.

I ran back at him.

I wrapped my body around his, the saw, though cutting through me, not hurting me at all.

I tried suffocating him, but he easily threw me off of him.

"Aw, what's the matter?" Did the poor science experiment forget to hold on? Did the freak of nature bite off more than she could chew?"

I put my hands over my ears, trying hard not to listen.

"Just a lost little girl, unsure how an accident like her could get by in this world. So she joins a crime ring to try and get back at the world because Daddy lied to her. Oh, but here's the twist: She betrays the ones that took her in for someone who could never love her."

He started laughing as I began to scream.

I couldn't take any more of it.

"STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!" I yelled as I lost my temper and rushed at Chainsaw, but he knocked me to the side with pure ease.

"You have some anger problems. Might wanna work on that." He taunted.

He walked up to me after picking up a bottle of whiskey.

I stood up, wondering what he was going to do.

"I hope you like ol' classic alcohol. Good ol' fashioned Hand of Hearts. Aging since the 90's. Oldest bottle of whiskey around... " Chainsaw began laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"My dear, tell me. How do you kill a liquid? ...You set it on fire." Before I could move, he poured the whiskey on me and then threw his lit lighter on me.

 **BATMAN'S POV:**

I snuck around all over the first floor, but I saw no sign of the machine.

Luckily, though, there were few fights.

See, ever since I destroyed this suit, the stealth on it stopped working, so I had to stick to the shadows.

So, I guess you could say I was lucky I got in so few fights.

I'm in so much pain, I couldn't take too much more.

Anyways, back to the machine. I looked all over the first floor and the below ground only had the one room, which meant it was upstairs.

I looked around the corner where the staircase was and threw a smoke pellet to blind the guards.

I ran past them as quietly as I could and used my batclaws to climb up the wooden panels to the ceiling and hide.

I waited for them to do their search of the floor before dropping down.

I went over to one of the doors.

They seemed to be extra cautious about this one being clear.

I opened it and my eyes couldn't believe what they saw...

"What.

The.

F-"

 **INQUE'S POV:**

I screamed.

I cried out in pain.

My entire body was burning.

"Every demon burns. I guess it's your turn." He laughed.

I couldn't believe what I was feeling.

It was like being in the middle of the sun and melting.

"You have to decide. You could:  
A. Let yourself burn and die.  
B. Jump in the water and drown."

He was right.

My choices are few.

After trying to consider which I should do, I managed to think of one choice Chainsaw didn't think of.

Through my pain, I jumped at Chainsaw.

He backed away.

"Not gonna work."

I jumped again.

He barely managed to dodge this time.

"Bitch, don't you dare." He threatened.

I jumped one more time and this time, he didn't get away.

The fire spread to the clown.

"Every... demon... burns." I managed to say, despite the searing pain.

After making sure that asshole was burning, I flowed through the water with one foot, put it on the surface on the other side, then repeated with the rest of my body.

"BITCH! YOU DAMN BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS! YOU'LL DIE, INQUE!" Chainsaw yelled.

"Keep talking, bastard. This is payback." I said before going over to the controls to close the water pit and then destroying the said controls.

 **BATMAN'S POV:**

It was a huge machine.

Inque wasn't wrong.

It was a real particle dissolver.

I put my finger to a bat ear.

"Guys, she was right."

"It's being built?" Dick asked with a noticeable panic in his voice.

"No. It has already been built. It's starting up and I don't know how to destroy it."

"Use this." I heard behind me.

Inque was standing there as I turned around, holding a lighter.

"This should do the trick."

I took the lighter.

"Hold on."

I clicked my boots and found the rockets still worked.

She blended her body into my suit and I flew into the air, throwing the lit lighter at the machine.

It exploded behind us as we flew away.

 **INQUE'S POV:**

"A huge explosion in Gotham today may have taken down one of the most infamous groups of Jokerz. Also, a man that robbed a power station in the Arrt District has been apprehended. More later tonight at Gotham's 10."

I shut the TV off.

"We made a great team tonight, Inque." Jake said.

After everything that happened tonight, the Bat-family decided I earned their trust.

Billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, former Commissioner's daughter, adoptive son of Bruce Wayne, and expelled high school student.

Who would have guessed?

"I think we did, Jake." I smiled at him and grabbed his hand.

This time, though?

Neither of us pulled away.

"Welcome to the team."


	18. Payback Part 1

He calls himself Payback.

He claims he's helping kids that get abused and neglected.

But he's too brutal for his own good and for those he claims to be helping.

I can't let this continue.

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **PAYBACK PART 1**

Inque and I were out patrolling Gotham, looking for the new guy in town.

He has been assaulting parents, teachers, and bosses of children that were too harsh, neglectful, or even downright abusive towards kids.

He usually left them completely beaten down and some dead.

We have no idea who he is behind that mask.

That was new for me.

We identified Spellbinder without any trouble. Ra's was recognizable. Didn't wear masks at all. Charlie was a ghost, but he existed, so I guess he somewhat counts. With Inque, she doesn't have any other identity. Never hid her face all that much.

But this Payback character?

Total mystery to me.

Although, Inque did assure me that he wasn't one of the Jokerz.

I guess she'd know.

"Vance, get to the airtrain station by the Livvora District right now." I heard Dick say through my earpiece.

Inque looked at me and I looked back, nodding.

I made the Batjet turn a sharp left towards east.

"The airtrains, huh? Wonder what someone would be doing there this time of night. If there's anywhere to go, the trains for those places have all been run by midnight." Inque mused.

"Maybe for some business." I shrugged.

"Business where?"

"There's still running companies in the older districts. Pinkney's Orphanage started back up under the new name of Pinkney's Fosters, despite no real bloodline of the Pinkney name are still around. Decided to keep the name, though, to honor Cyrus Pinkney. Then there's the Harvil Foundation, but that place is closed down by ten and the workers are usually all gone by that time." I explained.

"Maybe he worked as a guard there?"

"Who knows?"

Inque frowned, like there was something bothering her.

"What is it?" I asked, not liking the upset look on her face.

The idea she could go back to being bad was a terrible but very possible thought. One I'd hate to see actually play out. So whenever she gets mad, I've tried to keep her calm each time. But it's getting continuously harder to do so.

"Nothing."

Her tone made it very clear that she didn't want to talk about it, so I obliged.

When we arrived at the station, we found a body right on the tracks where the airtrain would stop to pick up passengers.

The trains can't stay airborne while they're still, so the tracks are still necessary. I'm sure the tracks will be taken down once they find a way around that.

Inque hurried over to the body to pick it up and put it on a bench next to a map of Gotham.

It was a miracle he was still alive. Countless bruises, obvious broken bones, almost all teeth were missing. It was horrifying.

I scanned over his body for any old objects and found a small rectangular object in his jacket pocket with Inque's name on the front.

I took the thing out and it turned out to be paper.

Paper.

Rare find nowadays.

"Inque. Here's a gift from me to you. I'm giving you the pleasure of finishing him off and getting revenge for yourself. - Payback" I read out.

I looked at Inque and saw the most shocked expression on her face and asked her what was bugging her.

"He's Doctor Fimmers. He's one of the only few doctors to have gotten away from Aaron Herbst when he went crazy and killed the others. Aaron lied to me my whole life and... Well... I'll tell you the story later."

I nodded, understanding.

"Let's get him to a hospital, Inque. We can ask him questions la-"

She knocked me to the ground.

"Inque! What the hell?!"

"He's not going to the hospital. He tried to have me killed. As a child, no less."

"That was long ago, Inque. People change. You're proof of that. Just a while ago, you were working with Jokerz and now you're here with me, stopping the bad guys. He moved on. You should too."

"The man who tried to have me exterminated before I could even stand on two feet should be forgiven because he moved on and forgot all about me?! That's an insult to me, Jake!"

"How many people have you killed and forgotten about?"

"NONE! I regret every murder I committed, remember every name. And I never even tried to kill a child."

"And you don't think he doesn't regret it?"

"Why would he? After all the news reports of what I done, why would he be happy he didn't kill me?"

"Why wouldn't he tell everyone about what happened in the lab? Out Aaron as a killer and reveal he had a science experiment locked up and hidden at his house? Why wouldn't he tell anyone if he didn't regret what he did?"

I watched her, ready to pull out a ice capsules, which replaced the batarangs to make up more room, just in case she attacked me.

Five very long seconds later, however, she seemed to relax herself and stood down.

"Fine. Let's get him feeling better." She spoke with a rather sad, yet angry, tone.


	19. Payback Part 2

"Is what Fimmers said true?

That you think I'm a good person?

That's why I'm on your team?"

"Yes."

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **PAYBACK PART 2**

We quickly got Fimmers to Gotham Hospital, once we managed to find room for him in the Jet.

We had to move slow on the way here.

We didn't want to cause any further injuries.

Well... I didn't, anyways.

When Inque and I tried to get into the hospital, though, we had a rather rough time getting past security.

"Hey!" shouted one of the patrols by the entrance. "I saw you on the news! You're that killer! Inque!"

He came up to Inque, pulling out his gun and handcuffs, as if those would work on her in the first place, ready to arrest her, until I stepped in front of him.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's cool. She's with me." I tried to assure him.

"You think that puts me at ease? You're a vigilante! You're lucky I don't haul you off too! Now get out of the way before I charge you with obstructing justice and an officer!"

"Stand down, Haynes." said a voice from behind me. "Batman's all right."

"But, sir..."

"No buts. Stand down."

"Yes, Commissioner Harvil." said the guard before putting his gun away and walking off, glaring at Inque and me.

"Wait..." I said, before turning around. "Whoa. It really is you! Commissioner Harvil Ficher!"

Harvil chuckled and nodded, holding out his hand, which I promptly shook.

"The way you've been running both your foundation and Gotham at the same time, you've got to be one of my idols. Your foundation has lowered poverty by at least five percent so far already, and you've only just gotten it built up."

"You flatter me, Batman. But it's all thanks to my father, Jack Ficher. Without what he's done for me, I'd never get to set up my foundation or run Gotham. Without what he's done for me, I wouldn't be able to help get people onto their feet."

"He was an excellent man. A shame what happened." I agreed.

"Indeed."

"Sir." Inque said.

Harvil blinked and looked at her as if just now noticing she was standing there.

"You. You're Inque, right?"

"Yes... Tell me something, please, sir. Why didn't you let him arrest me?"

I could tell Inque was uncomfortable asking it, but I could see why she'd want to ask.

"It's simple. Batman vouches for you, so I trust you."

Inque nodded, but it was clear she was still uncertain.

"So, why don't I escort you guys in? Avoid any more complications with the guards."

We both nodded and followed him in, carrying Fimmers in with us.

Once we got a room for him, we all sat down, waiting for him to wake up.

"So, Batman, have you caused these injuries? I did hear your first while of crime fighting was rather brutal."

"No. It was Payback."

I was a bit offended that one would think I was so brutal still. I'd like to think I have gotten better at holding myself back. But I didn't say anything about it. I want to keep Harvil as a friend, not an enemy.

"Payback? Hm. I heard he's a rather nasty bloke."

"Bloke?" Inque asked.

"It's a British term." I answered for him. "Bloke means a fellow person."

"He's British?" She asked.

"You couldn't hear the accent?" I questioned.

"No. Everyone sounds the same to me. My hearing is not like the normal person's." She replied.

Harvil nodded. "Of course. After all, you're not exactly..."

"Human." She interrupted, looking at the ground.

I wanted to frown at him, but I could see the guilty look on his face.

I needed to get us off this topic.

"So, Commissioner..."

"Please, call me Harvil."

"All right. So, Harvil, what do you know about Payback?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing more than you. I have a theory he was abused or neglected as a child, that's why he's out there attacking such parents and bosses, but I'd assume you already figured that out for yourself."

"Yeah, I did, unfortunately. Anything else?"

"No, but your friend might have an idea. And it seems he is waking up now." He said as Fimmers started to stir and sit up. "I should get going. Leave you two to your detective work."

"Don't you want to know what he has to say?"

"No. I trust you with this one. I have to deal with a controversy involving Officer Owens. Still don't know what drove him to kill innocent civilians."

I nodded and shook his hand, whishing him luck before turning to Fimmers.

"Well, look who woke up. How are you feeling?"

He groaned and rubbed his head before looking at me. "It felt like I was dying."

"Good." Inque said.

Imer Fimmers looked behind me and began to freak out at seeing Inque. "You! You're that... that..."

"That freak you tried to exterminate years ago? Yeah, that's me. Don't worry. I'm not here to seek revenge. We just want to ask you a few questions. Then we'll be out of your hair."

That seemed to relax him a little.

At least, it did when I told him she's with me.

"I'm sorry, Inque. I didn't want to. Honest."

"Save it." She snapped.

He gulped and laid down.

"Tell me something, Imer. Do you know how Payback knew about Inque's origins? How he knew you were one of the doctors in the room?"

"What?"

"We found a note on you for Inque. Said he left you alive so Inque could get revenge herself."

I noticed that he started to become worried again.

"Don't worry. She wasn't going to harm you." Which was partly true.

He nodded and settled down.

"Well, we haven't told anyone about what happened. We were afraid what would happen if we did. So we all agreed to keep quiet. So it must have been one of the other two doctors. Flyn Dillon and Mark Rivers. I'd suggest starting with them."

"Thank you." I said as I started walking out of the room.

I stopped, though, when I heard Fimmers say "I am sorry, Inque."

I turned around to watch what was happening.

"I felt horrible just thinking about killing another living being. Even if you're not human, you're not a bad person at all. Just had a rough past. Thank you for sparing me and I hope you find who you're looking for."

"How do you know I'm not a bad person?"

"Would Batman work with a bad person? Besides, as I said, you spared me."

I could see Inque managed to crack a smile.

"Thank you, Irem... and I forgive you."

Inque then got up and we walked out of the hospital before I grabbed her hand.

"You kept yourself in control back there, Inque. You're getting better at keeping hold of your anger."

"Thanks."

"Of course. Did you mean it when you said you forgave him?"

"I don't lie, Jake."

"Right."

I began to walk to the jet, but Inque didn't follow.

"What's wrong?"

"Jake, was Irem right? You do think I'm a good person? That that's why I'm on your team?"

I smiled and kissed her on the lips for a few brief seconds.

When I pulled away, I could see she was surprised, but also smiling and I swear her face turned a darker blue, as if she was blushing.

"Yes. He was right."

* * *

 **Fun fact: In "Batman Inque" Inque was 17 years old and Terry was 18. As of all chapters from "An Old Foe" to this chapter, "Payback Part 2", she's 18 and he's 19, making her 1 year younger than Jake.**


	20. Payback Part 3

Mark Rivers

Flyn Dillon

One of them is Payback

Now to figure out which one

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **PAYBACK PART 3: INTERRUPTED DATE**

"Mark Rivers and Flyn Dillon?" Dick asked.

"That's what Irem said."

Dick nodded as Barbara typed away on the Batcomputer.

"Mark Rivers was orphaned at age ten, diagnosed with cancer at fifteen. Despite how unlikely it was to survive, since it was too late to cure it, he managed to get through it and keep going up to now. He currently works as a preschool teacher." she read out.

"Him being a teacher means he loves kids. So that could be why he's out protecting them. The suit could be to enhance his strength, so despite his health issues, he's not hindered at all. It'd make him stronger, actually." Dick contemplated.

"You could use a suit like that, Grayson." Inque joked.

I chuckled and Dick glared at both of us.

We shut up, but I looked at Inque and she looked back, both of us sharing a smile.

I was excited for tonight.

It will be my first time in years going out as Jake instead of Batman.

Inque is worried that it'll look suspicious for me to be out on a date with Batman's partner, but I assured her that people are too smart to assume that one of Batman's partners would only date Batman himself.

"Focus you two." Barbara bluntly said, causing us to snap out of our dazes, making us realize we were staring at each other for the last minute or so.

I blushed and Inque awkwardly looked away.

Dick sighed. "You two need to be more professional."

"Sorry. So, Barbs, what do you have on Flyn Dillon?"

"He appears to be retired. Married. No kids, though. Was in prison for a short while after being caught using a special type of hallucinatory Slappers called Trippers. Not much different from LSD, except more common and far more lethal. Lucky he got rehabilitation when he did, or he'd have died."

"No kids? He could be using his whole protecting kids shtick to fill some hole in his life. And he has been to jail before so I doubt he'd be too fazed to go back."

Dick nodded in agreement and looked at me. "So, Batman, which are you going after? You can't go after one without alerting the other. Also, whoever he is, he's too powerful for either of you to take him on alone."

"Neither. Not tonight."

"What?"

"I have been patrolling Gotham and going after criminals every single day for a whole year. I'm taking tonight off to go on my date with Inque that you knew that I planned."

"No we're not. We're too close to catching this guy to slack off now."

"I've done everything I could to help this city so far. I deserve a day off."

"Fine. But you're responsible for anyone killed tonight."

"He rarely kills, so I'm not worried."

Dick frowned, but shrugged his shoulders and turned around, watching Barbara work on the computer.

"Let's go then." Inque smiled enthusiastically.

I just wore a traditional black suit with a white tie for our date.

Inque, however, looked beautiful in her dress. Absolutely stunning.

Despite being partly liquid, she was still able to wear solid clothing.

Can't wear make-up without absorbing, it though. But she didn't need it anyways. She looks gorgeous without it in her long, sparkling blue dress that looked absolutely fantastic on her.

"What do you think, Jake?" Inque asked as she walked down the stairs.

I couldn't help but stand there with my mouth wide open.

Inque rolled her eyes.

"Don't drool, Vance. You don't want to ruin that tuxedo."

I quickly looked away in a small bit of embarrassment.

Inque just sighed and kissed my lips.

"Relax." she said as she pulled away. "It's just a date. Nothing to get nervous over."

I kissed Inque back and nodded, taking hold of her hand.

"So, shall we go eat?"

Inque grinned and took the lead, nearly pulling me down with how fast she moved towards the limo waiting outside.

Once we got in and buckled up, I called out to the driver where to go.

"Electric Diner, please. The fancy one in the Rich District."

"Sure thing." The driver called back.

Things were going well as we rode to the diner, Inque's head on my shoulder, my hand holding hers, with romantic music playing over the car speakers. Things were fantastic tonight. Finally a peaceful night.

Or it was peaceful...

Then the limo crashed.

We both fell out of our seats and I hit my head on the floor, certain that it gave me a concussion.

I was also certain the driver was dead.

Inque, however, wouldn't have been hurt. She's been hit by worse in training and barely felt a thing.

"Why didn't you kill him, Inque?! I spared his life so you could end it!" I heard from outside.

It was obviously Payback.

The voice was enough to give it away, even if he hadn't shouted out exactly the same person I brought to the hospital as Batman was the person they assaulted in the exact same way Payback did.

I pulled myself out of the limo to see him standing over Inque, with one of those new laser nightsticks. Looks like a weapon right out of one of those old movies. I couldn't recall what they were named, though. It didn't really matter.

He was about to scream at Inque for answers again until he looked at me and backed away.

"J... Jake Vance?!" He asked in what sounded like complete shock.

That got me confused.

How does he know who I am?

But then I realized Payback wasn't a he when she took off her helmet.

My eyes widened.

I couldn't believe who it was...

"Mom?!"

* * *

 **I'm so happy to say that this story is now the very first Batman Beyond fanfic to have a TVTropes page! :D This so exciting!**

 **Also, I bet you all love the plot twist at the end here, huh? Don't worry guys, it'll be explained next chapter. ;)**


	21. Payback Part 4: Family Feud

My mother...

My mother is a killer vigilante...

My mother is Payback...

My mother has some explaining to do...

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **Payback Part 4: Family Feud**

"Mom?! You're Payback?!" I asked, completely flabbergasted.

She nodded, clearly surprised to see me, based on the look on her face. "Yes. I am. Just as much as you are Batman."

Dammit.

I'm on thin ice now.

One slip-up.

That's all it will take to confirm to my mother that I'm Batman.

She may be my mother, but she's a killer.

I need to play it carefully.

"Why do you think I'm Batman?"

"First of all, you are, or were, going on a date with Batman's sidekick."

"So what? There's a difference between dating someone and working with them."

"Not in your case. Besides, what nine year old could possibly run away and survive on their own unless they're good at adapting? Something Batman would need to be able to do? Then, nine years later, ten after your father's death, a new Batman just so happens to show up."

"I-" I tried to speak, but she interrupted.

"If you want to argue with me, you may. But if I win the argument, this laser will disintegrate your girlfriend. Normally, it takes several hits to kill a person with it. But she's pure liquid. And liquid evaporates a lot easier than skin, bones and muscle."

I clenched my teeth, trying to think of something that could take down her entire argument, but I just kept drawing blanks.

I could think of nothing.

She kept watching me, wanting me to just give up and admit it.

I guess mothers really do know everything about their sons.

I tried to think of something, but every argument I came up with could be easily countered and Inque would die.

I had no choice but to give up.

"You're right..."

Inque looked at me, shaking her head. She seemed too stunned to move too much more than that. She was in bad shape. Mom must have tortured her before I got out of the limo. The crash couldn't possibly be enough to keep her down like this.

"I'm Batman."

My mother's smile grew wide.

She looked somewhat crazy.

It was scary, actually.

"I knew it. I know my son so well, I can tell who he is even after years of not seeing him. All I need to do is look at a picture of him fully disguised to know it's you. You're nineteen now and I saw you at eight. I still can tell with the smallest of things, even your mannerisms. Some things you can never change." she laughed. "Now, you probably have a few questions."

"How did you know about Inque's past?"

"Oh please." she sighed in annoyance. "Once I found out it was you, I'd have to read up on your lover." she said as she pointed to Inque with her weapon. "Amazing how even the toughest of the tough computer security could be made penetrable by the most basic of hacking skills."

"And the suit?"

"Basic robotics. Anyone with a high school education in robotics could make an exoskeleton."

"If you knew I was alive, why were you surprised to see me?"

"I knew Inque was going to be in the limo, since I was following her around. I used the suit's homing hearing to hear her. All I could hear, though, was when, where, and limo. I just didn't expect it to be you that was with her."

"One more question." And this was not a question I was eager to hear the answer to. "Why?"

My mother sighed and looked me directly in the eyes. "I hated myself. That's why. I was horrible to you after your father passed. I was neglectful and abusive. So when I saw Batman out there fighting crime, I figured I'd help fight the scum that was as terrible as I was. Teachers, principals, bosses, parents, day-care workers and so on. It wasn't hard, either. I'd go out on patrol and find a sad kid walking around. I'd follow them in secret. Almost every time, they led me to abusive authority figures. It's quite sad, honestly. Most people think kids and teens get sad because they're spoiled, selfish brats upset at mommy and daddy for not buying them a new car or game, when, a lot of the time, it's actual abuse. They ignore the facts, though, because people disregard them as being too young to be able to know what's considered abuse or not. I'm here to change that. I'm here to show them that, as few people as there are that do, there's people that care."

I looked on to her in shock. I never expected that. And I couldn't exactly argue with her. She was right. People are too harsh on kids nowadays, dismissed as unappreciative brats. But still, that doesn't give her the right to just go and kill everyone. "Brutally assaulting and even killing, though? That's what you call self punishment?"

"No! I redeem myself that way, not punish myself! I kill the ones that don't care. I kill the ones that abuse, as if their children are just mere objects they can do whatever they want to."

"Your motives are kind, Mom. Inspiring, honestly. And you're right. But killing isn't redemption. It's falling further."

"Really? Look in the mirror, son. You're no less brutal."

I frowned as my anger swelled.

I knew I was brutal my first year, but I've gotten better at holding myself back and normally I'd make a remark, but such efforts would be wasted on my mother. Trust me, I'd know.

"I'm sorry, Mom." I said as I removed my clothes, showing the Batsuit underneath. But I can't let you continue."

I put my mask on and so did she.

I was about to fight my mother.

* * *

 **The poll is now closed! The winner is The Dinosaur with 2 votes to 0. You will see this character within the next few chapters.**


	22. Payback Part 5: Family Conflict

I know her intentions were good.

But she went too far.

I said I forgave her for what she did to me as a kid.

But now I have to fight her.

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **PAYBACK PART 5: FAMILY CONFLICT**

"Are you sure you want to do this, Jake?" My mother asked me with a voice modified by her helmet to make her sound like a guy.

"Well, what can I say?" I answered with a question. "I'd hate to give up a front row seat to a good fight."

"You've always been sarcastic."

She ran up to me and before I could dodge, her sword whammed into my side.

I fell onto my hands and knees, my vision pulsing red.

That thing was more powerful than typical taser-swords.

A few more hits and I'm dead.

I looked at the sword and saw it was designed differently from other tasers.

It was a long metal pole with a dish on one end to form a hilt. Above the dish and handle was a constantly flickering purple light surrounding the rest of the pole.

The flickering showed that it was overloaded with power unlike, again, most others.

Without a doubt it was modified.

But the fact it's overcharged means one electric batarang could destroy it.

I don't want to risk blowing up my mother, though.

I need to knock it out of her hands.

"I said I was sorry, Jake. That I felt bad for what I've done in the past. But this isn't the past. If you stand in my way, I _will_ kill you, even if you are my son."

She hit me with the sword again and I felt intense pain in my back.

I struggled to get to my feet, my limbs shaking uncontrollably.

"You never could take pain very well, Jake."

She struck again, but this time, I rolled out of the way, kicking the weapon out of her hands and throwing a batarang at it, causing a mini-explosion that seemed to daze my mother.

I used that to my advantage and get on my feet.

"Let's see how you can fight without a sword." I said as I got my bearings.

Then she laughed as she also stood up.

"I came prepared, Batman." she taunted, pulling out a second taser-sword from her belt.

Dammit.

Another sword and I used my last electric batarang.

I don't have anything to destroy her weapon.

She ran at me again with speed modified by her suit.

I didn't have time to avoid being hit at least three times, leaving me nearly immobilized on the ground in pain.

"So, Jake..." she laughed manically. Dammit, I hate when she does that. It was frightening. "I'll give you a choice. You can join your mother or you will die."

I barely managed to look up at her.

"I'll never be a killer."

She sighed sadly. It was so sad, I actually thought she was genuinely disappointed about having to kill me.

"That's too bad. I did this all for you, my son."

"No. It wasn't for me. I'd never have wanted anyone dead."

She raised her sword and swung it down, aiming for my neck.

But she failed to make contact.

All I could see was a blur as my mother was knocked off of her feet.

I tried to get up and see what was happening, but my body was too sore.

My eyes got too heavy to see anything anyways.

I blacked out.

I woke up a day later. Or, Barbara said it was a day.

I sat up, feeling horrible aches in my bones.

"Wha... What happened?"

I looked down at myself and saw I was covered in so many bandages that I looked like a mummy.

"You were knocked out pretty badly." Barbara said as she stuck me in the back with a syringe, which made me yell in pain, since that was where I was the most sore.

I looked to Inque and saw she was talking to Dick, which was odd, because they didn't exactly get along. Dick barely trusts me still, so it's no surprise he doesn't trust a former villain like Inque all that much.

"Don't tell him." I heard Dick say in a hushed tone.

They knew I was awake, so that'd be why they wouldn't be talking so quietly.

"Don't tell me about what?"

Inque looked at me, obviously shocked that I overheard them.

Dick shook his head at her, warning her not to tell me.

"It's nothing, Jake. Forget it."

I frowned. "I don't like being kept in the dark."

Inque sighed and walked over to me.

"Jake..."

"Tell me what you're hiding from me." I asked of her, getting frustrated for hiding whatever it was from me.

She sighed and looked me in the eyes, clearly not eager to tell me.

"Jake... I'm sorry... But your mother is dead..."

My eyes widened.

"No... There's no way..."

"She could be alive. Maybe the suit saved her. But I doubt it."

I grabbed Inque's shoulders, gripping them hard.

Barbara had to pull me off of her.

Inque looked at me, frowning and I looked back at her, telling her to explain what happened, starting from after I was knocked out.

She sat next to me and started to explain.

"Well, it was after I recovered from being beaten down by her, of course. I saw she was about to kill you so I knocked her off her feet. I took the mask off of her and started to punch at her, but she easily threw me off. She got up, but I wrapped myself around her, trying to subdue her. Unfortunately, she tripped over a tree root and fell off the side of the cliff when she tried to throw me off her a second time." She looked at me sadly as she explained, barely looking in my eyes.

"No... You're lying..." I denied.

"I wish I was."

I...

I couldn't believe it...

My mother...

She's dead...


	23. Nightmares

Please...

Someone help me...

I'm scared and in pain...

Someone save me from this Hell...

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **NIGHTMARES**

I rubbed my head as I woke up, groaning.

Yet another one of those nightmares.

I've been having these dreams every night since she died.

First the scene would replay in front of me from Inque's point of view, exactly how she described it happened.

Then it'd all go dark and I'd hear this distant voice, sounding like it was crying out for help.

I assume it's my mom calling for me to save her, but the voice was too young.

I don't see a need to dwell on who the voice might belong to, though.

What I _do_ see a need for, however, is to get to the batcave and go on my first patrol of the day.

I ran down the stairs to the main room of the mansions, looking around.

The sight of it never got old.

First, of course, was the centuries-old clock leading to the batcave in the corner. Against the wall, next to the hallway leading to the large glass front doors, was a classic brick-and-logs fireplace with a large brownish-red leather couch against the opposite wall, next to the clock. A large diamond and emerald chandelier hung from the ceiling above the tiger-pattern carpet on the floor, complementing the beige walls.

I stared at the decor like usual, still amazed after ten years, that I live here.

It made me wonder why my dreams had to be of my dying mother and then the disturbing cries for help instead of being about Inque and I laying on the couch as Dick served us those fancy sandwiches like in those dream sequences on TV.

I shook my head and walked over to the clock, about to punch in the numbers to get into the cave, but Dick stepped in my way.

"Where are you going?" He asked with that tone that made me instantly know I wasn't going to be let out of the mansion.

"What do you mean?" I asked innocently.

"You're not patrolling today is what I mean. All that screaming I heard upstairs? You'll be too distracted with too much going on in your mind. You're not trained enough to hold back your emotions in combat."

I tried to peak up about how I can take it, but Grayson interrupted me.

"Don't argue. Go back to sleep and get yourself together. Inque will cover you for today."

Now, I know I was a bit tired, but I could swear I actually heard a hint of caring in his voice, as if he actually doesn't want me to be hurt.

So much for the whole act about him not caring.

"Are you sure I can't be of any help in the batcave?"

"No. Just go sleep."

I sighed and knew there was no point to arguing with him. I nodded and went back upstairs into my bed and fell asleep, not even bothering to cover up with a blanket.

The dream started again.

First, Inque knocking Mom off the cliff, then the voice calling out for help.

It sounded farther away this time.

Something about the voice was different this time, too..

At first it was disturbing, but now I felt so bad for the person crying out.

I wanted to reach out and find where in the darkness it was coming from, but my arms wouldn't move at all.

The sounds of crying continued.

It sounds like... she's afraid.

Afraid and...

Dying...

She's dying...

And I want to desperately help her.

But I can't see her or move at all.

Nothing but darkness and the same voice calling for help constantly.

Normally my dreams would end by the fifth cry, but it didn't end.

It kept going for what felt like hours before the dream shifted.

It didn't last long, but I managed a glimpse.

I saw...

Scales?

A greenish-brown pattern.

Large enough to block my view entirely.

That's when my dream ended.

I woke up, feeling myself drenched in sweat, breathing heavily.

Apparently I rolled around a lot in my sleep this time, as my sheets and pillows were all over the room.

I got out of bed, made the bed, took a shower, and headed back to the batcave, thoughts on wondering what my dream could be about constantly flowing through my head as I did so.

When I got to the batcave, I found Barbara and Inque at the computer this time with Dick no where to be seen, which is odd, since it's Dick that's usually on the batcomputer at this time and he never left the cave, except to stop me in my tracks. He even has a kitchen and bathroom built in the cave... With the bathroom being a completely separate room in the cave, of course.

"Where's Grayson?" I questioned as I went over to the two.

"He had to leave to settle a legal case." Barbara replied.

"This late at night? What could this possibly be about?"

"Apparently there's a new guy in tow using Wayne-Powers technology to create living dinosaurs. Dick needs to assure people that his share of the company has never even heard of this guy before, let alone is he working with him."

"Just his share? He can't vouch for the whole company?"

"No."

"Doesn't he own most of it?"

"Yes."

She sounded none-too-pleased about any of it, so I decided to venture off the topic of Dick and onto this dinosaur guy.

"So what's this about a new dino in town?"

"We know too little right now to be certain of anything aside from the fact he's using our tech to power his animatronics and he calls himself The Dino." Inque said as she typed away on her own monitor.

Why exactly didn't I get my own part of the computer if I've been here longer than Inque?

Such schwarbage.

"The Dino, huh? Stupid name."

"His call what he wants to be named. If he wants to pick a bad name, he can."

I nodded and sat down next to Inque and watched them both work their magic, leaning my head onto my hand, bored, until I noticed something in one of the very few photos they had of the guy.

"Wait." I said as I pointed to the picture. "Zoom in on that one."

Barbara obliged.

"What is that?" I asked as I strained my eyes at the faint blur in the upper left corner of the picture.

"I don't know." Barbs responded before zooming in further and clearing up the photo.

The it turned out to be a who.

She's a little girl.

Strapped and hooked up to some weird machine.

She looked to be in pain.

A girl's voice in pain and dying...

Greenish brown scales...

That's what made me realize it.

"She's the one that was crying out for help in my dreams."


	24. Psychic

A dying psychic girl

A psycho dino obsessed maniac

I'm certain things are going to get crazy soon

And, with any luck, fun

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **PSYCHIC**

"Wait, what did you just say?" Inque asked as if I had gone crazy.

I explained to Inque and Barbara the dreams I've been having the last few nights and, when I finished, they both looked at the computer, frowning.

"Way to show interest, you guys."

Inque reached over and shoved me, somewhat playfully, but also irritably, before speaking.

"If you had the patience to wait a few more seconds, we would have said that we've been reading into this dino guy and that the reports did mention something about how a little girl was kidnapped a month ago in another article about a page or two after reporting on Dino. How long have you been having these dreams?"

"For the last month, I've been either having these dreams or no dreams at all. Like an on-again-off-again thing."

"Well, then. Now we know how both cases are linked." Inque replied. "But we still don't know where they are."

I smiled and put on my suit. "It's easy." I said. "Dinosaur exhibit at the museum."

"And you're certain they're there?" Barbara asked.

"Where else would they be?"

"Abandoned warehouses, a science lab, archaeological sites."

"Archaeological sites? In Gotham? This day and age?"

"There's still quite a few of them here in Gotham. Specifically in the Abandoned district."

"Well, the museum's still a start." I said as I got in the jet yet again. I was beginning to wonder if there'd ever actually be a crime I could handle without needing to use the jet to get there.

"You coming, Inque?"

"No. Dick will be back soon and someone will need to help him get the rest of his statements in order and Barbara has more skill with detective work than me, so she's better suited at the computer than I am."

"Right, then. Keep me updated on the case. It may provide clues as to who this freak is."

I flew off in the jet and went to Ancient Gotham Museum.

Barbara was right, I thought as I drove the jet. It wasn't likely he'd be here.

But I can't leave any stone unturned.

I landed the vehicle on top of the building, got out, and switched my cowl to infrared so I can avoid the security lines inside the building.

"I'm going in now. Do not contact me. The signal will set off the alarm." I spoke to Barbara and Inque through the cowl.

"Got it. How long should we expect you to contact us?"

"If you don't hear from me in half an hour, assume I've run into trouble."

"Got it."

Then I walked into the museum, keeping my guard up.

It wouldn't be likely he was here.

I'm certain the people that work here would have figured out he was by now with a kidnapped psychic girl.

Still, I couldn't rule anything out.

Not unless I wanted to risk losing this guy.

So I started in the most obvious exhibit: The dinosaurs.

I walked around the room, careful to avoid the sensors, gliding past the ones I couldn't step or jump around.

I scanned the whole exhibit using the scanners in the cowl to detect any traces of DNA, but I found nothing.

No signs whatsoever of his presence.

As I conducted my search, looking for some sort of sign like a fingerprint on a case or a statue out of place, I saw someone standing in the corner of the room, standing on top of one of the security lines.

 _'How did they not set off the alarm?'_ I thought to myself.

I went to take a step forward, but they shook their head, pointing at the floor.

I put my foot back where it was, noticing one of the security lines was there.

There was no way for me to get closer without tripping the alarm.

"Who are you?" I asked the figure.

She stepped out of the shadows and revealed herself to be the little girl that was kidnapped.

"What? You escaped?"

She shook her head, looking afraid and very ill, and she seemed to be getting worse by the second.

"So you didn't escape."

She shook her head again.

"Well, why don't you tell me where you are?"

She shook her head and pointed at her mouth.

So, she can't talk to me like this.

"You can only talk to me through my dreams?"

She nodded.

"Then let me ask you yes or no questions. Are you nearby?"

She shrugged, as if to say she doesn't know.

"Then yes or no questions won't be helpful..."

She nodded, seeming to agree with that statement.

"Then I guess I'll have to fall asleep."

I knelt down onto both knees to look the girl in the eyes.

"I'll find you and I'll get you free. I promise."

Then I got up and left the museum and back in the batjet.

"Oracle?" I asked over the monitor as I drove back.

"Yeah?"

"Get the knockout serum ready."

"The _what_ serum?" She spoke worriedly. "Jake, you know that stuff is still in testing. You can't possibly be thinking of-"

"I know the risks. But there's a dino freak that has to be stopped before he does any more damage and ruin the reputation of Wayne-Powers and a dying girl that's getting worse by the moment that needs to be saved."

"Fine then. Get here as quickly as possible."

"I'm on my way now."

* * *

 **AN: I can't wait for you guys to see what I got planned after this arc and a few more. I'm going to have lots of fun writing it when I get there.**


	25. Knockout

So, to talk to her, I have to be asleep

However, I don't have enough time to fall asleep on my own

A knockout serum is my only choice

And I may not wake up

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **KNOCKOUT**

When I got to the batcave, Dick came up to me and slapped me upside the head, which I managed to duck.

"The serum?!" He yelled. "Are you crazy?!"

"I know how dangerous it is. I know there's only a small chance of surviving and if I do survive, I'll have a severe concussion, but I need to get that girl free and stop this Dino guy."

"Inque will take care of it."

"She can't, though. She can't speak to her. Only the little girl chooses who she speaks to and she chose me. Not Inque. It can't be Inque that goes to get her, because she isn't able to speak to the kidnapped girl."

"You know, I'd say I didn't believe you, but after everything else Bruce faced when I was younger and everything you faced recently? I have no choice but to believe in psychic kids. Either way, it's too dangerous, Jake."

"It's not so dangerous that I can just let this guy succeed in whatever his plans are. Not so dangerous I'll let him ruin the reputation of Wayne-Powers. It's _certainly_ not dangerous enough for me to let someone I _promised_ I'd save die painfully and alone." I sighed when I stopped ranting. I was furious with this guy. Who does he think he is, so willing to back down just because it's a little dangerous? He was really willing to let someone die because it'd be dangerous to save her?

One thing was certain, though.

The original Batman wouldn't cower away.

Which means this one won't either.

"I'm doing this. Like it or not." I spoke with a disappointed tone in my voice.

I went over to the table and set the computer to inject me with the serum as soon as I laid down.

"He's a lot like you were when you were Robin, Dick." I heard Barbara whisper to Grayson.

"Except he's too reckless."

I guess they didn't know I could hear them from over here.

I guess it didn't matter much, though.

I got on the table and the machine injected the liquids into me, which knocked me out instantly.

"Batman?" A young voice spoke in the darkness. "Batman, are you there?"

The voice was clearly the little girl.

"Batman, you have to help me. I can't tell where I am."

"Describe the place." I asked of her with concern. I was kind of surprised that I could speak in this state, but I'm glad that I could. It'd be a lot harder to figure out where she is if I couldn't.

"The room I'm in is small and I see no doors. There is a window, but it's up high."

"Can you climb up to it?"

"Yeah. OK, I'm there. I... think I'm above Gotham... Yeah, I can see the Wayne-Powers building right below me."

"Wayne-Powers?" I asked. After a few minutes, realization came to me. "You're in the WP blimp. About 2,010 feet off the ground. 10 feet above the building."

I could hear her begin to whimper, as if she was afraid.

"Scared of heights?"

"Yeah..."

"Don't worry. I'll get you out of there. I'm on my way... um... What's your name?"

"Tamara Caulder."

"I'll get you out of there, Tama-"

" **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!** " I heard her scream.

"Tamara?!"

Everything went dark.

I couldn't speak or move.

I could barely think...

I thought for sure I was dead...

* * *

 **AN: I'm so sorry for the short chapter, guys. I know it has been a long time since I've updated this story (about a month) and I know this so short, but with writer's block, there's only so much you can do. Again, I apologize and I swear I'll do my best to do better on the next chapter.**


	26. Nightmares 2

Everything went dark...

I couldn't speak or move...

I could barely think...

I thought for sure I was dead...

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **NIGHTMARES 2**

Blackness...

That's all there was.

Exactly how people describe purgatory to be.

And, as boring as it was, it's not a place I exactly wanted to stay.

I knew that staying under for too long would kill me.

But I couldn't wake up. As hard as I tried, as little as I'm able to, my eyes wouldn't open.

But I didn't need to open them for my vision to change.

Visions started to come into my, well, field of vision.

It was blurry at first, but it'd slowly clear up. I saw me as a kid, eight years old, playing with a new toy that I had gotten, and my parents sitting in the living room watching some old show from way back in the days when movies didn't even have color. Who knows how they had gotten their hands on such relics?

Even the house was old-school 2010s fashion, despite living in the year 2024. Cloth couches, modern day rugs, or what was considered modern back then, glass tables, all the good stuff.

My dad was wearing his usual jeans and flannel shirt. His eyes were green and his hair a bold yellow, along with a pointed chin. His arm was wrapped around my mom's shoulders. She was somewhat taller than him and her hair was dark brown and her eyes a striking blue. She was wearing a black turtle neck and a pair of sweatpants... Yeah, she had no sense of style.

Something was off, though. The scene seemed too familiar...

I heard the rain outside. It was a gentle rain. Nothing too bad. A small drizzle.

The smell of the fire in the fireplace reminded me of something...

A knock on the door...

And I realized...

"No!" I wanted to scream, forced to watch as my eight year old self went over to answer the door at my dad's request.

"Well, what do we have here?" The man laughed as he strolled right on in, wearing his business suit. Of course, though, his face was hidden with make up and a fedora. "What a nice little abode."

My memory of the incident slowly returned to me as it played out in front of me. The serum must have brought back the repressed memories as events I didn't even recall until now began to replay.

"Who are you?" My father asked as he watched the man enter the house and go right into the kitchen, with no wall between it and the living room.

The footsteps were light and the coat was clearly too big for him to wear over the tuxedo. "A friend of your boss. Now, can you follow me somewhere private? We need to discuss those negotiations that you wanted so badly."

My father questioned nothing as he followed him... Only to be stabbed in the heart with a knife from his own kitchen. Laughing, The Joker used his sleeve to smear off his make up and reveal his pale, horrific face. "They've been cancelled... permanently..."

Blood poured out of his wound as Joker walked out as my mom began screaming, using a phone to call an ambulance as she ran to his side, trying to stop the bleeding. She turned to me, not my younger self, but me personally, and said it was all my fault. That I shouldn't have opened the door... That the one time I didn't refuse to listen I should have... That's when everything went black again, though I woke up for real this time, my face feeling exceedingly wet and my vision blurry, pain in bones.

"Thank God you're alive!" Inque and Barbara both exclaimed as they leaned over me.

"Your vitals stopped completely. The got significantly lower over the last four hours and we couldn't stop them from going any lower. We thought you had died." Inque said as she sat back in her seat beside me, sighing in relief.

I didn't say anything. Didn't respond, didn't move as my eyes glanced around the room.

Inque frowned at this, but Dick put his hand on her shoulder, telling her to allow me time to get myself back together and that whatever went on in my head, it couldn't have been easy, explaining how the serum brings back your worst memories.

Leaning over the side of the table I was sitting on, I started throwing up. My throat scratched and my stomach emptied as my nose stuffed up as if I was getting sick. My head was pounding. I stood up off the table and looked at Dick.

Despite how horrible I felt, I still knew something had to be done.

"The WP blimp... How fast can you get me there?"


	27. Rescue

I feel weak

Like I can barely stand

But there's a psychic little kid that needs saving

I can't rest now

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE:**

 **RESCUE**

"Are you sure you want to do this, Jake?" Dick asked over the coms in my mask. "In your condition, you may not be up for a fight."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

The batjet set to hover over the blimp, slowly gliding along with it, I jumped out, spreading out my arms to let the wings in the suit spread out. The new jets on my boots shot out flames and I could feel myself propelling forward, taking a nose-dive.

It's night and the cold air was making me shiver, even with the suit's default temperature being in the upper 80s in farenheight. Snow was falling all around Gotham, painting it a color of pure white. It also made the top of the blimp feel slippery enough that, even though it's a good few hundred feet around, perhaps even a thousand, I should've been more concerned about falling off as I got in through a hatch on the side of it.

It was much warmer on the inside.

I pressed a button on my wrist and saw my hand go invisible with the rest of my body. New and improved stealth. It should stop anyone from hearing anything I say, so I can still talk on the comms, but it won't silence my footsteps. Crouching down and making my way slowly to the wall, I peered around the corner.

The hallway was mostly empty, aside from a guard in front of a door at the end of the hall. Figuring this was as good a place to start as any, I slowly made my way over there, stopping whenever I think I heard him make some sort of noise and managed to slip past him by tossing a smoke capsule down where I came from. Not a lot of smoke would come from it and the capsule is too small to be seen, so he wouldn't think there was an intruder or anything too damaged.

I went through the door, closing it silently, before falling to my feet. I felt very lightheaded and nearly threw up in my mask. I could tell it was the serum doing this to me. I needed to work fast or else this will wind up biting me in the rear end.

I made my way through and continued to search for the girl and this Dinosaur person, though I didn't seem to be getting any closer to finding them. Even using the new HUD in my mask wasn't helping at all. No one was giving off any heat signatures and barely any noise was being picked up. Very strange, since you'd think that someone making animatronic dinosaurs to curbstomb Gotham would have the place lava hot and not very quiet.

I stumbled through room after room, desparately looking when I heard static in my earpiece. Lifting my hand, I pressed the button.

"Jake, it's Inque. I managed to pin point the location of the girl. They did a good job trying to disguise the temperature signatures, but I managed to get a general idea that she's near the bottom levels of the blimp."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Just keep an eye out on your vitals. They keep spiking and then nearly flatlining."

"I'm fine."

"Are you?"

Sighing, I let go of the button and began working my down, distracting, and sometimes knocking out, guards along the way. They all seemed to be regular Wayne-Powers guards, but their armor looked different. It was in the pattern of scales.

I knew immediately something was wrong. I began to run before I was tackled to the ground by at least four other guards and was knocked out before I could get a good look at them. When I woke up, I was in front of the little girl that I talked to when I was knocked out. I could see the disappointment in her eyes. I promised to save her and now here I am, bound to the floor by chains too heavy for me to break, right in front of her. The hero captured.

Behind her, was a very muscular man. He looked deathly pale and his eyes were wide and dark, like he was very mad. And not in the angry way. He didn't say anything at all as he walked around me. His footsteps were eerily quiet. I heard him coughing as he finally spoke up after a few minutes of dead silence.

"So, you're the new Batman I've been hearing so much about? Well, I can't say I'm not disappointed." He stared at me for about ten seconds before walking out of the room. "Not nearly as interesting as I thought you'd be. I can't even be bothered to kill you. I'd have removed your mask, but then that'd make you even more uninteresting, since you're clearly human with no special powers. Just lie there for a while. I'll be back shortly so you can go back to Gotham... after I've turned it to rubble."

His footsteps got quieter the further he walked away and soon there was no sound at all. I looked up to get a closer look at the girl. Her arms were chained to a machine behind her. The machine had a purple orb at the top and along the chains looked like purple sparks, flowing out of the girl and into the strange device. She was clearly in pain, but the disappointment seemed to leave her face.

"You need to get out of here, now." She spoke weakly in a soft whisper, her voice sounding very distorted. "Even if you destroy the machine, he has what he needs already. You need to focus on Dino-freak."

"I would, but I can't exactly move." I exhasperated.

She shut her eyes and I could see her straining to focus as the energy stopped going through her chains and towards me as my own broke. I stood up and quickly ran over to her, but she shook her head, telling me to go. I had to remember to ask why she couldn't have saved herself earlier. I ran off in the direction that Dino went, after going invisible. I heard another beeping in my ears and I pressed the button.

"Jake. Stop. Your heart won't be able to handle the strain if you fight." I heard Inque speak.

"Then what do you suggest I do?"

"Play it smart. The suit is detecting this man is stronger than physically capable, but his brain is deteriorating. I'm looking at files here and it looks like he's a fan of an old foe of Bruce's. Killer Croc. Except he's not making himself into a dinosaur."

"He's trying to make his animatronics into living dinosaurs using the girl's powers. So how do I play this, then? Try to free her first? Or destroy his animatronics?"

"That's up to you."

I sighed and took my finger off the button as I creeped into the next room silently and what I saw horrified me. A thirty foot tall animatronic dinosaur. A T-Rex to be exact. Except its fangs and claws looked a lot sharper than they should be and the arms were far too long.

I decided that, to take this thing out, I had to get inside of it and destroy all I could, so I crept over and looked over it for a way inside. I saw an open panel large enough to fit myself in on the back of the tail and slid myself inside, crawling through many wires and metal bars when I felt a vibration around me. Movement. The thing had come to life and I had to try my hardest to duck around various cogs and keep myself from getting tangled.

"How funny, Batman. It wasn't going to be that easy."

Dammit.

The damn thing had an anti-infiltration feature.

I swang from pipe to pipe, climbing my way up to the head, which had to be where the more vital features were. I was luckily right and, avoiding constant danger, I managed to destroy everything in this madman's toy's brain... Which only made him laugh as I crawled out.

"Of course, after all, you wouldn't think it was that easy, would you, Batman? Finding the real threat?"

Shock overcame my body as I realized...

I pressed my finger to my ear.

"INQUE! BARBARA! GRAYSON!"

"Jake, it's a decoy! The real animatronic is down here! And it's much worse than the one that your feed showed us!"

"Show me!"

I could hear Barbara typing quickly on the keyboard as images flashed on my screen.

I couldn't believe what I saw.


	28. Gotham's Destruction

It's huge

I don't know if I can stop it

One thing I do know?

Half of Gotham is already destroyed

 **BATMAN BEYOND REVISITED**

 **EPISODE 28**

 **GOTHAM'S DESTRUCTION**

What I saw through my vision was chaos. Roughly around fourty percent of the city was gone now and nearly the entire city was on fire. I heard the twisted maniac behind me laughing. The image of the 300 foot tall godzilla animatronic had fuzzed out and it was replaced with the vision of what was really around me. I extended my suit's fingers into claws, wings extending. "Sorry, Dino, but I got a monster to take care of."

And with that, he ran over to me, smacking into my stomach with an overgrown fist. I groaned and sat up. The pain that was already inside of me was so much worse now. I could hear Grayson's voice in my earpiece, but all that was getting through was a ringing noise going through my head. I shut my eyes tight when I felt the next hit.

"I don't think you're going anywhere." He spoke with malice in his voice, picking me up by my neck which I grasped at with both my hands. I was lucky that this suit had miniature batarangs stored into the wrist. By pressing a button, an electrical one flew right into his left eye. Some blood spilled out, but aside from that he didn't seem to sustain any real injuries. He did stumble back and let me go whilst yelling in pain, of course. And luckily I was quick enough to manage to cuff him from behind and shove him to the ground.

"Jake! You have to shut this thing down now! It has caused enough damage to the city already!" I could hear Inque shouting into my ear. "There's no way you'll be able to fight it so you need to figure out how it's being controlled!"

"Easier said than done! This thing is way too advanced to exist yet. Tamara may be powering it, but I have no idea how." I shouted back. "Inque, get Dick and Barbara clear out of the city."

I stood there, my breath heavy and my vision blurry. A couple of moments passed before I heard her say "All right. But stay safe."

I disconnected the ear piece and slowly walked towards Tamara, nearly passing out twice. Once I got to her, I found her in the same condition that I am in, ready to pass out. I slap her gently on the cheek a few times. Her eyes opened and I can clearly see the purple irises in them and the left one is slightly gray, as if it was blinded.

"...B... Batman?" she whispered with a coarse voice and tears streaming down her face. Both of sorrow and regret, as if she held herself responsible for this. "I'm sorry. I should have stopped it. I should have been strong enough. It's my fault."

'Ouch. Okay, that stings.'

"It's not your fault. He forced you. Now let's get you out of this."

I noticed that there was nothing stopping me from reaching her this time. It's as if all her power is being used solely for the Godzilla machine now.

Her skin was turning gray and wrinkled and she barely had a pulse. I put my hand over her chest, over her heart, and could barely feel a beat.

"It can't be shut down."

I jumped back a bit, somehow startled.

"It can't. It's not connected to anything but me. I have to die for it to stop working. You have to kill me."

I gulped and nodded. I would never kill anyone for anything less. But I knew there was no other option. I closed my eyes and grabbed a sleep serum from my belt and injected the whole thing into a vein in her neck. I kept tears from falling out of my eyes. Not only was I forced to make my first kill, but it was to a child as well. Then I felt a hand on my cheek and heard her mutter the words 'thank you' before the life left her, leaving her corpse in my hands. I heard a loud creaking noise from outside the blimp. Picking up her body and climbing outside of the aircraft would show me that the Godzilla machine had stopped in its tracks, standing just before the Wayne-Powers Enterprise building. I held the girl's body in my arms and sighed, climbing into the batjet.

Once arrived back at the manor hours later, I found Inque, Barbara, and Dick all sitting in the batcave.

"What took you so long?!" Inque yelled, standing up and arm turned into a blade. I should have know she'd be furious. "We thought you had died up there!"

My eyes turned to the ground. "I buried her... I found out where she lived and saw her home was destroyed. But I found a large patch of grass untouched by the rubble and dug her her grave. She's home now."

My knees were feeling weak and I cupped my forehead in my left hand, sighing.

Grayson and Barbara looked at each other, exchanging glances.

"Listen, Vance. Let me tell you about a metahuman named Ace. She was a little girl that had the ability to alter reality, or peoples' perception of reality. She had changed so much of Gotham that once she was dying that an agent of Cadmus, Amanda Waller, was worried about the psychic backlash from her death. So she had sent in Batman to kill her... or, he volunteered anyways. Instead of killing her, though, he sat with her, talked with her. So she died peacefully after being convinced to turn everything back."

I stood up and pulled my mask off. "And this makes me feel better how? Are you really trying to make me feel bad? That I shouldn't have killed her? I know that already."

Inque put her hand on my shoulder. "No. That's not his point. His point is that sometimes death is inevitable and all you can do is just make sure that you make sure they die in the most peaceful way possible. And you did just that. You did nothing different than what Bruce would have."

Dick nodded his head. "Exactly."

"Fine. Even if I did the right thing with her, what about the half of Gotham that is destroyed? What about the thousands of people with their homes and businesses gone? How many died in that destruction?"

"Nothing you could have stopped. It was mostly abandoned anyways. Yes, people died, but there'll be casualties, Jake. It's nothing you can stop. Nothing even Batman could stop. The night the Joker died, at least 500 people were killed. Yes, it's still sad people lost their lives again tonight, but you can't beat yourself up over it. That area of the city can be rebuilt. Made better."

I took a few deep breaths before heading to the batcave, whispering "I need to think."


End file.
